Publication Date
2012
Abstract
The language of “interculturalism” has become part of the current doxa among policy-makers. It informs the ways in which new models of diversity governance are being designed, from supra-national organisms to local councils. In general terms, intercultural models tend to place high value on the question of “living together” or “conviviality”, and also on issues of equality and social justice. However, the evidence in this paper (based on fieldwork in a working-class neighborhood in Spain) suggests that in actual practice local governments do not see local “intercultural/community” projects as a means to promote social justice but as an end in itself, often devoid of content. In the current stage of predatory capitalism, intercultural processes of governance are often narrowed down to the prevention of conflicts that may arise as “side effects,” and possible initiatives regarding socioeconomic inequalities tend to be co-opted or eroded.
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