The Philosophy Department presents A political philosophy for an inclusive multicultural democracy, a talk by guest speaker Daniel Little, professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and professor emeritus of sociology and public policy at U of M-Ann Arbor.
Abstract: The paper provides the skeleton of a political philosophy incorporating the ideals of
an inclusive multicultural democracy. I maintain that a stable and inclusive multicultural
democracy is a positive value for the whole of society: all citizens are benefited by a varied and
harmonious population of peoples with distinct traditions, values, and practices. This is a
society in which there are many groups and identities (racial, ethnic, sexual, class, nationality),
and in which members of these groups generally have the moral emotions of compassion and
respect towards members of other groups. Difference exists without discrimination and
prejudice; more fundamentally, difference exists within the context of a cohesive sense of
shared community. Rather than antagonism there is friendship across groups, or what we might
call “civic friendship”. All of this requires moral transformation of multiple generations of
citizens. The paper reviews several key ideas from John Rawls, Philip Pettit, Charles Mills, and
Martin Luther King, Jr. It concludes that reparative programs like those commonly included in
DEI initiatives are not only legitimate in a modern democracy, but are morally necessary based
on our underlying commitments to equality and liberty.
Bio: Daniel Little (PhD Harvard, 1977) is a philosopher of social science with a strong interest in
Asia. He is professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and
professor emeritus of sociology and public policy at U of M-Ann Arbor. He served as chancellor
of the University of Michigan-Dearborn from 2000 to 2018. His interests include social ontology,
the philosophy of history, and social justice. Since 2000 he has published Rethinking Analytical
Sociology (2025), Confronting Evil in History (2022), A New Social Ontology of Government
(2020), New Directions in the Philosophy of Social Science (2016), New Contributions to the
Philosophy of History (2010), and The Paradox of Wealth and Poverty: Mapping the Ethical
Dilemmas of Global Development (2003). He is currently writing two books -- Seeds of Division:
Democracy and the Politics of Hate and Why Societies Diverge: Insights from Comparative
Historical Sociology. His academic blog can be found at undsoc.org.
Open to all members of the Oberlin campus community
