A World of Plural and Pluralist Civilizations

摘要

In these brief remarks I am making two basic points. Civilizations are best thought of as plural andpluralist. Despite their firm conviction of being unrivalled in their uniqueness, like all other majorcivilizations both China and America are on this central point quite normal and unexceptional. Thispluralist perspective is in sharp disagreements with both conservative and liberal arguments advancedwith great self-confidence and to great acclaim in both East and West. Specifically, this pluralistperspective differs from conservative arguments that think of civilizations as unitary cultural programs,organized hierarchically around uncontested core values. And it differs also from liberal views based onthe firm conviction of the existence of unambiguous, uncontestable, liberal criteria for judging good,civilized conduct.