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The Democratic Contradictions of Multiculturalism, by Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt, is now on sale in the Telos Press store. Purchase it here and save 20% off the list price!
What is multiculturalism? Is it every person’s right in a democratic society to choose his or her religion and culture and to express criticism regardless of taboos and moralistic norms? Or is it the right of cultures and religions to be protected from insult and to preserve themselves against change? Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt examine the ideology and the reality of multiculturalism, including the Muhammad cartoons, laws against blasphemy, hijab, the Islamic ban on apostasy, and the limits of the freedom of religion.
“It’s hard to imagine a book more timely, more courageous, and more useful to those of us trying to sort through the confusion of contemporary political language.”
—Michael A. Ledeen, Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies
“No other work I know of has depicted this landscape with such skill and authority—and no small amount of intellectual courage.”
—Fouad Ajami, Senior Fellow, The Hoover Institution, and author of The Arab Predicament: Arab Political Thought and Practice Since 1967
“The Democratic Contradictions of Multiculturalism is a very important book in this day and age. It provides a thorough, systematic survey and analysis of contemporary versions and trends within multiculturalism, discloses its origins, and looks at its place in current politics, philosophy, and religion. A book not to be missed by anybody interested in the state of the world. That means, not to be missed by anybody.”
—Vincent F. Hendricks, Professor of Formal Philosophy, University of Copenhagen and Columbia University
“What would a society be like in which the ideals of ‘hard multiculturalism’ are made real—a society in which communities may enforce their own mores and traditions on their members, may even mobilize their own police force and legal system? In this brilliant book, Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt, well known for their studies of Bosnia and Serbia, explore from both an empirical and a theoretical point of view what happens when culture becomes a political ideology.”
—Barry Smith, Julian Park Professor of Philosophy, University at Buffalo
About the Authors
Jens-Martin Eriksen is a Danish writer based in Geneva who has won several literary awards including the lifelong Grant of Honor from the Danish Endowment for the Arts.
Frederik Stjernfelt is a professor in cognitive semiotics and cultural studies at the University of Aarhus, Denmark. He is a member of the Danish Academy of Letters as well as the Royal Danish Academy of the Sciences.
