chapter 7
...................................................................................................................................................THE PLURALIST
IMAGINATION
...................................................................................................................................................david schlosberg
Accepting the legitimacy of diVerence is theoretically problematic.
(Raz 2001 : 11 )1Introduction
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
William James proclaimed in 1909 that the ‘‘prestige of the absolute has rather
crumbled in our hands’’ ( 1977 , 63 ). A century later, political theory sees
moral, ethical, and cultural pluralism as endemic—an undeniable, empirical,
political reality. Generations of pluralists have theorized ways to undermine
universalism and monism in both political practice and theory; while unsuc-
cessful in a political realm that has seen a revitalized focus on universalism,
pluralist theory has imagined numerous paths toward the development of an
acceptance of varied values, cultures, and ways of life. Further, in its focus on
developing ways to engage authentically across diVerence, the pluralist im-
agination has permeated the recent history of political theory. White ( 2002 ,
475 ) sees the Weld as ‘‘constrained to an ever deeper and more extensive
engagement with pluralism. And we must become, accordingly, increasingly