Confident Pluralism
Surviving and Thriving through Deep Difference
In recent years, the United States has become increasingly polarized and divided. This fissure is evident across the nation in conflict over LGBTQ rights; in challenges to religious liberty; in clashes over abortion; in tensions between law enforcement and minority communities. With all of this physical and emotional violence enacted by our legal system and such seemingly irresolvable differences in beliefs, values, and identities across the country, we are forced to ask – how can the people of this nation ever live in peace together? In "Confident Pluralism", John D. Inazu analyzes the current state of the country, orients the contemporary United States within its broader history, and explores the ways that Americans can – and must – live together peaceably despite these deeply engrained differences. Pluralism is one of the founding creeds of the United States – yet America's society and legal system continues to face deep, unsolved structural problems in dealing with differing cultural anxieties, and minority viewpoints. Inazu not only argues that it is possible to cohabitate peacefully in this country, but also lays out realistic guidelines for our society and legal system to achieve the new American dream through civic practices that value toleration over protest, humility over defensiveness, and persuasion over coercion. An essential clarion call during one of the most troubled times in US history, "Confident Pluralism" offers a refreshing argument for how the legal system can protect peoples' personal beliefs and differences and shows how we can build toward a healthier future of tolerance, patience, and empathy.
About the Author
John D. Inazu is associate professor of law and political science at Washington University in St. Louis.
Reviews
"Inazu addresses a question as old as our republic and as current as protests in Ferguson: with such strongly felt differences, how can Americans live together as one people? In words both scholarly and inspiring, he confronts the notion that we serve the good of the whole when we silence voices of the few. As a law professor, he argues for stronger legal protections for dissenting groups; as a concerned citizen, he calls on us to listen to and respect those with whom we strongly disagree. In this age of rants on social media and campus speech norms, Inazu shows us the way towards a more inclusive and tolerant nation. 'Confident Pluralism' is important reading for our time" – John C. Danforth, former United States senator and former ambassador to the United Nations
"Too many people view the freedom to pursue one's beliefs and associations as important to their own interests, but not for the sake of others. In this timely book, Inazu shows how all people, even those with deep-seated disagreements, can benefit from these freedoms and live together in civil society" – Michael W. McConnell, Stanford Law School
"Inazu's 'Confident Pluralism' is a remarkable book that grabs by the throat the most profound problem we face: the question of whether we can live truly with each other, not merely alongside each other, in situations where we genuinely feel most alienated from, and even threatened by, one another's beliefs or behaviors. With a good lawyer's acuity and a committed citizen's painful honestly, Inazu probes for the places where our differences are most tender – race, religion, sexuality – and demands that we address those concerns for what they are. Inazu ultimately hopes – as all our best public thinkers have hoped – for more from us than just resigned indifference. The book's real bravery means it will make almost all of its readers uncomfortable at different points, and its admirable ambition means that it takes that discomfort as an inevitable, if unintended, consequence of its aims" – Charles Mathewes, University of Virginia
"'Confident Pluralism' is important both as a theoretical book and as a practical one. Inazu's unusually thoughtful treatment builds on theories of pluralism to show how contemporary legal doctrine and civic engagement can and should put that pluralism into practice" – William Baude, University of Chicago Law School
