Education for citizenship in pluralist liberal democracies: Balancing diversity and commonality

One of the distinctive and abiding features of Terence McLaughlin’s intellectual legacy has been how he addressed the challenge of achieving a proper balance between diversity and commonality in education. Recently his work has acquired renewed relevance as the political, social and theoretical terrain has seen a marked shift away from a recognition of commonality. The paper begins by tracing the trajectory of McLaughlin’s liberalism and his accompanying understanding of citizenship and liberal education. It then discusses how the balance between diversity and commonality that McLaughlin sought is imperilled by current threats to liberal democracy, particularly from identity politics and social media. In the face of these changes, I defend the enduring relevance of McLaughlin’s liberalism.