The justification and methodology

In his contribution to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report entitled “Cultural Liberty in Today’s Diverse World”, Amartya Sen urges us to study the links between diversity and freedom; he is worried about the risk of confinement within the walls of a tradition: “The value of cultural diversity rests on its positive connection – as is often the case – with cultural liberty” (p. 24). The report points out that over 150 countries contain minority groups representing at least 10% of the population, and that in the case of 100 countries, these minorities account for over 25% of the population. Similarly, as Daniel Cohen notes, arguing for cultural diversity solely on the grounds that it is the inheritance of different groups of individuals is not enough to establish its legitimacy; the economist refers to a study by William Easterly and Ross Levine, who maintain that a significant share of African poverty is attributable to the diversity of States in the continent of Africa, in which severe ethnic fragmentation has played its part in weakening the level of both education and infrastructure.