The Liberalism of Diversity

Abstract

As the most important chapter in the book, it shows that the political turn should be completed with a commitment to diversity rather than to autonomy. Pro-toleration liberalism, in fact, combines the politicization of liberalism with a general pro-diversity orientation. Chandran Kukathas’s ‘liberal archipelago’ model is assumed as an instance of PT liberalism. It is deeply analysed and criticized. It becomes acceptable only after some substantial amendments. In particular, after an enquiry into the kind of obligations binding individuals to groups and to the mainstream society (and to the state), the chapter claims that understanding such obligations as associative obligations can render PT liberalism more tenable. This view is increasingly defensible when it is completed with a much more extended account of the mainstream society and of the role of the state.