Zelfconcept en maatschappelijke integratie

Abstract

In this paper the politically correct credo 'Integration while maintaining one's identity' is analyzed by means of arguments from cultural psychology. First it explores the requirements of being a good citizen in a liberal democracy. Following Rawls, we state that justice is the cardinal liberal virtue and that this virtue includes having dispositions like respecting the rights of all citizens equally. Then it investigates the notion of identity and the relation between culture and identity from a cultural-psychological perspective. We focus on the distinction between collectivistic cultures and interdependent self-concepts on the one hand and individualistic cultures and independent self-concepts on the other. It is concluded that developing into a good citizen in a liberal democracy cannot be combined with the full preservation of an interdependent self-concept. Further, we argue that the state has the right and the duty to promote the development of liberal virtues in schools, even if this means that the development of an interdependent self-concept of children from particular immigrant groups is hampered.