Societal and diversity-oriented values

A basic principle in value liberalism is that the state should take clear position for a number of societal values which are important for society to function in a good way, and that too are such that all citizens can be expected to join them. Values ​​of another kind have no reason for the state to take a position for or against, and different groups in society may have different views in such matters. This is a characteristic feature of societies with ethnic and religious diversity.

An important type of societal values ​​are those who state rules and attitudes in the interaction between different groups in diversity. A first such valuation is distancing from all supremacism, thus all notions that a group is superior another. The general concept of supremacism includes racism, sexism and religionism. The latter is the notion that a religion is superior to another and that its practitioners are superior to other groups.

Another important value is freedom of assimilation, the rule that each person is free to choose which group or groups he or she wants No group requires its members to forever and one hundred percent shall follow the rules and values ​​of that group, and it should always be possible to mix behaviors from different groups.

An important aspect of the freedom of assimilation is that it makes a demand on leaders and representatives within each group in diversity: they must not preach or pursue theses that are contrary to the freedom of assimilation. For example, a religious leader should not be allowed to try to forbid their parishioners to marry one partner in another community, or to threaten with divine punishment they do this.

Yet another rule is reciprocity. This valuation has formulated by the American researcher T.A. Aleinikoff under the designation mutuality and with the following description:

Mutuality demands active engagement, learning about others in their own terms ~ not a suspension of judgment, but judgment based on information and interaction. Tolerance is a politics of peaceful coexistence; mutuality is a politics of recognition. Recognition changes the observer.

Reciprocity in interpersonal relationships is thus what is missing when supremacism prevails, and it is also missing when a society has been fragmented to consist of different parallel societies.

A more complete proposal in terms of societal values ​​within Diversity liberalism can be found in articles under the tab 'Basic values'.