- Do you think that cultural relativism is justified?

Present arguments for and against

Heywood recognizes two grounds on which universalism is challenged:

- viewing it as philosophically unsound

Communitarianist critique of individualism of liberalism

Postmodern critique of metanarratives (grand narratives) about universalism

- viewing it as politically damaging

Postcolonial critiques defending relativism:

- (similar to communitarianism and postmodern) circumstances vary from society to society and from culture
to culture, so require different moral values or at least different conceptions of human rights

- radical (e.g. Edward Said – Orientalism) – universal values as a form of cultural imperialism (human rights
imperialism); Said’s criticism of Eurocentrism and use of Orientalism to ensure cultural and political
hegemony of Europe, through demeaning stereotypes of the Middle East

E.g. Asian values – social harmony,