Transcending Constructed Boundaries: The role of the state in managing cultural diversity through multiculturalism

Abstract

Managing cultural diversity is inevitable. Globalization, advances in communication and transportation technology, historical and ongoing migrations, and the legacy of territorial expansion and colonization have heightened cultural diversity and identity differentiations. Multiculturalism offers an alternative approach to diversity management. However, it has its theoretical and practical fault lines that the state should be cognizant of as policies are being formulated and implemented. It is argued that society should be seen as a marketplace of cultures and identities freely interacting and fusing. The state has the responsibility to adopt multiculturalism policies that expand cultural liberty and enable cultural transcendence. Cultural transcendence is the ability of individuals and societies to draw connecting lines between seemingly disparate identity dots, instinctively rising above differences into coherence and synergy. It is hoped that ideas evolving from active cultural and ethnic interactions will shape a better understanding of human co-existence beyond what liberal, cosmopolitan and multicultural thinking have to offer.