Abstract
The experiments inspired by multiculturalism and the cultural practices developed by enforcing affirmative action saw their heydays in the period 2002-2016, within a new configuration that created opportunities for an identity movement hinging upon the positive evaluation of heritage and recognition of the formerly subaltern culture of large sections of the population that had been historically discriminated against. The essay scrutinizes the key terms and a few dynamics in this process, and a set of turning points that led to a crisis of the process itself. The main argument is that such crisis originates from both the internal weakness of the identity movement and the dangerous conservative outright attack on the multicultural mind set and on the right to diversity.
Keywords:
Multiculturalism; Identity politics; Racism; Reactionary