Models of attention to cultural diversity. The intercultural model as the axis of social cohesion
The relationship with difference has been one of the great challenges in contemporary societies. And, over time, different models of relationship with difference have emerged. These represent theoretical, political and social conceptions that are tributaries of a broader concept of a valuative and axiological nature that interprets the issue of diversity and how to respond to its challenges.
The most traditional models are the assimilationist, the multicultural, and the intercultural models and, more recently, anti-racist action based on critical theory.
The assimilationist perspective assumes that the acceptance of those who are different occurs in proportion to their ability to adapt to the dominant culture. Integration processes depend on the construction of a repertoire of values, behaviors and social practices that approximate and replicate the cultural practices of the host society. These processes result from public measures and social practices that contribute to the more or less subtle erasure of the marks of the culture of origin, replacing them with the characteristics of the dominant culture. We can list, as some examples, the discouragement of the use of the mother tongue, the limitation of religious practices and the regulation of culturally defined clothing.
The multicultural models represent an appreciation of cultural diversity and the right to preserve and respect differences. They are mainly based on cultural relativism and on the recognition of the culture of origin as legitimate. However, the socio-educational action resulting from them is limited to this recognition, not promoting processes of interaction and mutual learning among different cultural groups. They are present when the actions that signal the presence, in the same social space, of different cultures are limited to pointing out those differences in punctual moments, as for example handicraft shows, gastronomic fairs or other very particular cultural manifestations.
Intercultural perspectives are characterized by the intentionality of interactions, learning and mutual exchange between different cultures. They foresee an effective coexistence between people from different cultures and the possibility of effective sharing of knowledge and ways of being.
Some critical voices have called attention to the fact that the intercultural discourse emphasizes the differences between immigrants and "autochthonous" or "nationals", sees the host country as more developed, and ignores the diversity among nationals. According to this analysis, we often start from a vision of the other which minimizes the other and which is structural, giving rise to institutional racism and prejudice, which can in turn lead to a subordinate inclusion. For these theorists it is important to critically analyze the historicity of these processes, proposing a discussion on (anti)racism and on the necessary processes of decolonial reflection and questioning.