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professor at Pennsylvania State University, argues that we are not "all
multiculturalists now"-nor, in essence, have we ever really been. The
book could change the nature of the multiculturalist debate. For
Clausen hardly delivers a typical screed that excoriates the proponents
of multiculturalism. Rather, he proves just as critical of "assimilation–
ist" stances as he does of the "diversity" apparatchiks.
Clausen's criticisms of the multiculturalist project are novel precisely
because he does not find fault with the tenets of the movement, but
doubts the very existence of mu lticulturalism in American life. True
multiculturalism, he argues, would demand an understanding of and
immersion in cultures so radically different that deference to all of them
would cause major rifts in society. How could one abide by the caste
system of India and the individualism of the Renaissance, and remain
true
to
the spirit of both? In essence, it can't be done . Proponents of
multiculturalism don't earnestly desire Americans to delve into the heart
of the world's myriad cultures; they yearn for something else- some–
thing much less involved and disconcerting than true multiculturalism.
Indeed, the end result of America's infatuation with other cultures is
a superficial and thoughtless concern for the artifacts and ephemerali–
ties of non-Western societies that grant one a false sense of kinship with
"oppressed" peoples. This, Clausen demonstrates, is a far cry from true
multiculturalism.
Clausen also offers criticisms of "cultural relativism," a notion intrin–
sically linked
to
the spirit of multiculturalism. Having traced its origin
to classical anthropologists, he argues that
What cultural relativism now usually amounts to in practice is that
only those aspects of non-European cultures that seem most com–
patible with Western feminism and at least a minimal notion of
human rights are held up as examples of diversity. Few American
multiculturalists are enthusiastic about the treatment of women in
Saudi Arabia . . .or, worse yet, Afghanistan under the Taliban.
Thus we find that, according to the true spirit of so-called multicul–
turalism, cultural relativism goes only so far, and is a highly selective
endeavor. Multiculturalism itself, furthermore, compels its followers
to
survey a mere patina of non-Western cultures.
Conservative critics have argued many of these points before, placing
special emphasis on practices such as female genital mutilation in parts
of Africa and ritual female immolation in India as a means
to
discount
