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The Culture of Poverty

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 June 2009

Bernard Boxill
Bernard Boxill
Affiliation:
Philosophy, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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Extract

A society is culturally plural when it contains a variety of cultural groups. A common view is that just societies are likely to be culturally plural. This view assumes that human beings have rights to remain in the cultures in which they were born, or even to adopt whatever culture they choose. It is also widely believed that cultural pluralism tends to have good consequences. For example, many people suppose that the variety of cultures in a culturally plural society adds savor and interest to the lives of its inhabitants. This view evidently assumes that culture is a consumer good. Another view that cultural pluralism tends to have good consequences rests on the premise that each culture has claims to moral knowledge.

Type
Research Article
Information
Social Philosophy and Policy , Volume 11 , Issue 1 , Winter 1994 , pp. 249 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © Social Philosophy and Policy Foundation 1994

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References

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34 Ibid., p. xlv.

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36 Ibid., p. lii.

37 Ibid., p.xlv.

38 Ibid., p. lii. To be at all reasonable, I expect that Lewis means “social work” rather than “psychiatric treatment.”

39 Ibid.

40 Ibid., p. xlix.

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42 Ibid., p. xliii.

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