Fathali Moghaddam is concerned about humanity’s ability to unite, on a mass scale, and address global concerns, from climate catastrophe to extreme wealth concentration, war and famine. 

In his new book, The Psychology of Multiculturalism, Assimilation and Omniculturalism, Moghaddam argues for a worldwide, cultural shift towards omniculturalism, an active celebration of human similarities to better confront the obstacles facing humanity.    

“Human similarities are like the largest part of the iceberg submerged underwater, but our attention is repeatedly drawn to the much smaller human differences that are clearly visible because they stick out above the water,” wrote Moghaddam, a professor in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Psychology. “Omniculturalism celebrates the deep similarities that exist between people, and embraces how we humans have far more important commonalities than differences.”

Omniculturalism Vs. Multiculturalism Vs. Assimilation

We can predict with certainty that societies around the globe will grow more diverse. This presents a unique challenge, according to Moghaddam, to chart a new path forward, one in which all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, religious creed, or cultural group, are valued and celebrated. 

Humans have always moved from place to place, but historically this movement has been on foot and/or by animal transportation – not by jet planes,” wrote Moghaddam. “By the early twenty-first century, there was a strong backlash against this ‘invasion’ of dissimilar others, in societies fixated on ‘celebrating differences.’ This backlash is associated with the rise of populist leaders and the adoption of inward-looking nationalist policies.”

The existing paradigms for sustaining diverse societies, multiculturalism and assimilation, are failing. Multiculturalism, which Moghaddam traces to the social movements of the 1960s, emphasizes a celebration of intergroup differences. An unintended side effect of multiculturalism, as both a social and political priority, has been the entrenchment and proliferation of differences, says Moghaddam. 

“The main shortcomings of multiculturalism include moral relativism and the supposed parity of cultures and ethnicities serving as a distraction from enormous and growing actual wealth disparities and the relative decline of the economically poorest groups,” said Moghaddam. “Multiculturalism mistakenly treats culture as discrete, independent and stable.”

Assimilation, a technique favored by the ruling class of a society that has more historical dominance than multiculturalism, has failed in different ways, says Moghaddam. 

“Assimilation has for the most part benefitted majority groups, but not minority groups,” says Moghaddam. “The power structure is maintained through assimilation, wherein minorities melt into the mainstream culture or all groups melt into one another.”

Omniculturalism and Celebrating Similarities

In lieu of both assimilation and omniculturalism, Moghaddam offers omniculturalism, a celebration of similarities over differences. To illustrate how societies might make this shift, Moghaddam cites different religious and political definitions of what constitutes marriages and families. Both terms have evolved in specific contexts over human history, but there are core similarities that cut across cultural divides. 

“All families are made up of individuals who love one another, take care of one another, sacrifice for one another, show loyalty to one another, trust one another, forgive one another and dedicate themselves to improving the lives of family members,” wrote Moghaddam “Throughout our long evolutionary history, the family, in different shapes and formulations, remains the basic stable unit that has ensured human survival, by successfully raising the next generation and increasing the probability of our collective continuation.”

In his new book, Moghaddam describes the psychological underpinnings of omniculturalism and how empirical evidence shows that his approach offers a better way for society’s to manage diversity and conflict. Omniculturalism is in line with conceiving psychology as the science of human universals.

“An ideal is the most practical thing; it moves us to try to improve the world,” wrote Moghaddam. “Omniculturalism presents an ideal that can unite all humanity to work for a better world, using as a point of departure the simple fact that humans are in foundational ways far more similar to each other than they are different.”

Published by Springer Nature, The Psychology of Multiculturalism, Assimilation, and Omniculturalism, is available now. 

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