Abstract:
Plurality and difference are ubiquitous realities in almost every modern-day
society, including South Africa. This heterogeneity, and the often-accompanying
fragmentation, significantly complicate social coexistence to the point where it
even challenges the political, in that it pushes against the unity and cohesion
required for the flourishing of political societies. It weakens and undermines the
development of broad social trust and the establishment of a strong civic
culture in its communities. Merely suppressing diversity and requiring all to be
assimilated to a single culture is not viable however, for it inevitably leads to a
society characterised by exclusion, marginalisation and oppression. Only by
recognising an open, accommodating ethos towards the other as a foundational
public norm can we hope to establish a political order in which we can live well
and flourish in the midst of diversity.
