Strange Multiplicity: Constitutionalism in an Age of Diversity

The Seeley Lectures

by James H. Tully

The distinguished political philosopher James Tully addresses the demands for cultural recognition that constitute the major conflicts of today, such as nationalism and federalism, the claims of Aboriginal peoples, feminism, linguistic and ethnic minorities. Tully's survey of four hundred years of constitutional practice shows that neither modern nor postmodern constitutionalism can adjudicate such claims justly, and in Strange Multiplicity he instead develops a post-imperial philosophy of constitutionalism capable of bringing peace to the twenty-first century.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Race, Political Science

272 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 1995

Reviews

[I Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tully here argues for a new conception of constitutionalism that can accommodate more than just a monological narrative of the constitution. It certainly provided a compelling case for the value of diversity - I really liked the argument from Wittgenstein's language games - and an interesting history of how the constitutional language we take for granted today was used to subjugate cultures with different, yet equally valid, constitutional languages. However, perhaps I don't have the necessary grounding in political philosophy to fully appreciate Tully's arguments, or perhaps it wasn't his intention, but I wasn't convinced that his constitutionalism could be practically implemented. Political theory like this seems to fall short when it fails to engage with the practical aspect. Nonetheless, I think it provides a great framework from which to think about diversity and cultural dialogue in the modern state.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

A Strange and Unattainable Multiplicity
In the book Strange Multiplicity, the author James Tully seeks to reconcile the cultural accommodation inherent in his concept of ancient constitutionalism with its supposed foil, which he describes as modern constitutionalism. Tully is under the impression that ancient constitutionalism must supplement modern constitutionalism in order to protect cultural diversity in the present and future. He advocates his ancient constitutionalism through claims that modern constitutionalism does not include and/or respect diverse cultures such as Aboriginal tribes. Tully contends that modern constitutionalism affirms individual freedoms derived from a European/Imperial domination of political theory which, in turn, seeks to assimilate, overlook, or exclude absorbed cultures in favor of a uniformity based on individual equality. For Tully, the uniformity advocated by modern constitutionalism silences peripheral cultures from having their views, ideals, and customs expressed and respected as valuable human expressions. To help explain his theory concerning the value of cultural accommodation within ancient constitutionalism, Tully uses an analogy of ancient cities and their modern additions. He believes that the buildings of ancient cities (like culture and its customs) should not be considered inferior due to their lack of uniformity to the buildings of modernity (like the rationality/uniformity of modern constitutionalism). Rather, he judges that both types of structures (symbolically and literally) should be respected as valuable human expressions, and also that these human expressions of culture should not be thrown away in favor of uniformity, due to the fact that the ancient structures served as a foundation for the development of the modern structures. Idealistically, Tully’s argument has noble intentions, but in a realistic sense his inclusion of equal respect to all cultures, or the supplement of ancient constitutionalism with modern constitutionalism is severely impractical, and more than likely impossible in our continuously globalizing and culture blurring world.

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is from a series of lectures that were given in Cambridge in 1994. Tully has done a good job of keeping the reading such as to retain the character of a lecture. On the whole, it is a great book with some brilliant ideas. I had a difficult time following at points because of my lack of knowledge about Wittgenstein and also not knowing the Greek story of Antigone (you really need to look it up as it is an analogy threaded throughout the lectures).

I definitely recommend it to anyone studying culture, multiculturalism, and diversity. The underlying question is how to accommodate diversity into constitutionalism. Tully challenges modern constitutionalism that is set on uniformity. At times, it seems overly optimistic but one hopes that Tully's arguments gain ground and we have a better incorporation of diversity.

Chapters:
1. Demands for constitutional recognition
2. Diversity and contemporary constitutionalism
3. The historical formation of modern constitutionalism: the empire of uniformity
4. The historical formation of common constitutionalism: the rediscovery of cultural diversity, part 1
5. The historical formation of common constitutionalism: the rediscovery of cultural diversity, part 2
6. Constitutionalism in an age of cultural diversity