The Crisis of Culture in a Time of Multiculturalism
Our societies are becoming increasingly “multicultural.” The phenomenon is a prominent element of political and scholarly debate, yet it escapes unequivocal definition. Communities with characteristic languages, religions, and customs produce distinct identities, which are shared with varying degrees of success across the common social space. Will they be able, eventually, to integrate into a common society, or will they always remain in a state of latent conflict ? According to Simmel, the crisis of culture characterizes the modern life of humanity, since people are unable to arrive at a subjective synthesis either of the objective contents of culture or of the social roles they themselves play. The Simmelian theory of culture today faces questions stemming from the sociological interpretation of multiculturalism : is it to be seen as a reductionist strategy in response to modern social complexity or as a conflict between « multi-communitarianism » and societal pluralism ? The article provides a Simmelian perspective on the arguments involved.