John D. Inazu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226365459
- eISBN:
- 9780226365596
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226365596.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
Confident Pluralism argues that we can and must live together peaceably in spite of deep and sometimes irresolvable differences over politics, religion, sexuality, and other important matters. We can ...
More
Confident Pluralism argues that we can and must live together peaceably in spite of deep and sometimes irresolvable differences over politics, religion, sexuality, and other important matters. We can do so in two important ways. The first is by insisting upon constitutional commitments in three areas of the law: (1) protecting the voluntary groups of civil society through the rights of assembly and association; (2) facilitating and enabling dissent, disagreement, and diversity in public forums; and (3) ensuring that generally available government funding is not limited by government orthodoxy. The second way to pursue Confident Pluralism is by embodying its aspirations of tolerance, humility, and patience in three civic practices: (1) our speech; (2) our collective action (protests, strikes, and boycotts); and (3) our relationships across difference. Confident Pluralism suggests that when it comes to these civic practices, it is often better to tolerate than to protest, better to project humility than defensiveness, and better to wait patiently for the fruits of persuasion than to force the consequences of coercion. Confident Pluralism will not give us the American Dream. But it might help avoid the American NightmareLess
Confident Pluralism argues that we can and must live together peaceably in spite of deep and sometimes irresolvable differences over politics, religion, sexuality, and other important matters. We can do so in two important ways. The first is by insisting upon constitutional commitments in three areas of the law: (1) protecting the voluntary groups of civil society through the rights of assembly and association; (2) facilitating and enabling dissent, disagreement, and diversity in public forums; and (3) ensuring that generally available government funding is not limited by government orthodoxy. The second way to pursue Confident Pluralism is by embodying its aspirations of tolerance, humility, and patience in three civic practices: (1) our speech; (2) our collective action (protests, strikes, and boycotts); and (3) our relationships across difference. Confident Pluralism suggests that when it comes to these civic practices, it is often better to tolerate than to protest, better to project humility than defensiveness, and better to wait patiently for the fruits of persuasion than to force the consequences of coercion. Confident Pluralism will not give us the American Dream. But it might help avoid the American Nightmare
John D. Inazu
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780226365459
- eISBN:
- 9780226365596
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226365596.003.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
The Introduction sets out what is at stake in Confident Pluralism. Our deep differences call into question our constitutional aspiration for “a more perfect union,” our national metaphor of a great ...
More
The Introduction sets out what is at stake in Confident Pluralism. Our deep differences call into question our constitutional aspiration for “a more perfect union,” our national metaphor of a great “melting pot,” and the promise of our nation's seal, E pluribus unum. Our differences pervade our backgrounds, preferences, and allegiances. They affect not only what we think, but also how we think, and how we see the world. John Rawls called it the “fact of pluralism.” The fact of pluralism creates a practical problem in need of a political solution. Rousseau offered one possibility: “it is impossible to live at peace with those we regard as damned.” Confident Pluralism insists that Rousseau was wrong: our shared existence is not only possible, but also necessary. Instead of the elusive goal of E pluribus unum, it suggests a more modest possibility—that we can live together in our “many-ness.” That vision does not entail Pollyannaish illusions that we will solve all of our differences and live happily ever after. Few people think that our differences will go away—we are stuck with the good, the bad, and the ugly of pluralism. But Confident Pluralism remains possible in both law and society.Less
The Introduction sets out what is at stake in Confident Pluralism. Our deep differences call into question our constitutional aspiration for “a more perfect union,” our national metaphor of a great “melting pot,” and the promise of our nation's seal, E pluribus unum. Our differences pervade our backgrounds, preferences, and allegiances. They affect not only what we think, but also how we think, and how we see the world. John Rawls called it the “fact of pluralism.” The fact of pluralism creates a practical problem in need of a political solution. Rousseau offered one possibility: “it is impossible to live at peace with those we regard as damned.” Confident Pluralism insists that Rousseau was wrong: our shared existence is not only possible, but also necessary. Instead of the elusive goal of E pluribus unum, it suggests a more modest possibility—that we can live together in our “many-ness.” That vision does not entail Pollyannaish illusions that we will solve all of our differences and live happily ever after. Few people think that our differences will go away—we are stuck with the good, the bad, and the ugly of pluralism. But Confident Pluralism remains possible in both law and society.
