다문화주의에서의 도덕과 정치의 변증법 -당위와 존재 사이에서의 갈등과 대립을 중심으로-

초록

It is evident that the atmosphere around multiculturalism is not moving in a favorable direction home and abroad today. In South Korea, multiculturalism has emerged as a topic around the society since the middle 1990s when the inflow of foreigners began. It is not difficult to come across articles reporting that the nation will not be able to maintain as a state without foreign migrants. The awareness is spreading that foreign migrants should be called “us” rather than “them.” Multiculturalism is, at the same time, considered to have something to do with economic and social issues including unemployment, crimes, and refugees. As recession is prolonged in recent years, there is less and less interest in foreign migrants as “them and us” compared with “real us.” The perceptions of multiculturalism in the global community are worse than in South Korea. In advanced nations in the West that have long led multiculturalism, the critical perceptions of multiculturalism are expanding further. As situations associated with multiculturalism are moving in negative currents, the voices are growing to demand that multiculturalism should be reviewed again to prepare for a “post-multicultural era.” It can be, however, a hasty judgment to regard multiculturalism as a failed cultural policy just because some issues in the West are considered to stem from multiculturalism. It is a rejection to pluralism advocated by multiculturalism and nation-centrism to overcome a prolonged recession rather than a rejection to multiculturalism itself. A declaration to give up multiculturalism is a political act of some sort to emphasize the importance of one"s own country rather than a consideration into others. Politics should not, however, reflect only the reality. Politics should pursue Sollen while not ignoring the reality. That is, politics should propose a prospect for a more desirable world instead of trying to make a world that is just good for eating and living. In today"s situation where there was an unfriendly atmosphere around multiculturalism, this study set out to examine relations among Sollen, ideal and reality, and politics as an ethical demand inherent in multiculturalism. Specifically, the study would demonstrate that multiculturalism was a temporary policy accepted as a political compromise rather than Sollen to pursue an ideal in the Western society. The Western situations around multiculturalism hold significance as a lesson to South Korea where multiculturalism has already become part of the reality.

키워드