獨石與巨傘--多元文化主義的過與不及

A Monolith or an Umbrella: The Multicultural Predicaments

多元文化主義的發展，由於政治正確的關係，迄已過度渲染而出現兩種困境，一方面有人陷入獨石論的迷思，另方面則有人不察巨傘論的浮泛。就獨石論而言，太過重視族群原生本質的結果，不免造成群體權利至高無上、文化傳承故步自封等問題。就巨傘論而言，太過包容文化差異訴求的結果，亦不免造成文化概念混淆、弱勢定義紛歧、性別意識膨脹、階級議題潛螫等問題。本文逐一分析這些問題之後，鑑於「社會正義」是眾人共同關懷的主題，故而建議不妨以此做為平台，重新建構族群、階級、性別等群體遭受各式社會壓迫的「多維盤錯」關係。

Owing to the sway of political correctness， multiculturalism has been caught in an awkward situation ever since it burgeons in the second half of the 20th century. It has fallen victim to the myth of what I call a monolith theory， and that of an umbrella theory at the same time. Monolithic theory， which incorporates an ethnic essentialism， has led to the ethnocentric petition for collective rights and the consequent stagnation of cultural development. As for the umbrella theory， too much inclusion of subjugated and/or subordinated groups has caused problems such as misconstruction of cultural minorities， swell of gender consciousness， and ignorance of class effects. In view of the fact that social justice is the main concern of both camps， this article suggests that they try to reach a mutual understanding on the basis of this common goal， and then go on to reconsider the inter-relationships among ethnicity， class， gender and the various forms of social oppression in an open and multidimensional context.