Agree to Differ

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sion of singularity’, Sen’s concept for the belief in social

identities that have totalitarian pretentions. That belief is

reductionist in that it rejects the possibility of multiple social

identities and, ultimately, may lead to the violent settlement

of conflicts or differences. Therefore, people should not be

submitted to the exclusionary power of any all-encompassing

identity – be it religious or gender- or community-specific

– as this diminishes social identity and overshadows the

many and varied affiliations and associations of individuals

and their integration into society in multiple ways.

What is required is a development imaginary incorpo-

rating the differences within societies as part of an open

process in which individual identities link with processes of

modernization and production transformation. Social cohe-

sion mechanisms need to be strengthened in Latin America

and the Caribbean, both objectively and subjectively. Moving

towards cohesive societies requires taking meaningful steps

to reduce the concentration of wealth, remedy the unequal

distribution of the fruits of economic growth and substan-

tially improve protection against vulnerabilities and risks. In

a world in which technology and workplace skills are chang-

ing rapidly and inequality is growing, work must take on a

more powerful inclusionary potential. This entails embedding

more technical advances and value added into production,

improving the skills of the labour force and boosting their

ability to adapt to an ever-changing world of work, which is

imperative for economic development, social inclusion and a

sense of belonging. This would most likely benefit economic

performance and lead to a fairer distribution of the fruits of

development, with a decisive impact on people’s well-being.

It is vital to act quickly on the most entrenched and dispro-

portionate aspects of exclusion. Only then will the excluded

perceive change, mobility and solutions and be able to over-

come the sense of unfairness, frustration and insecurity that

is undermining their hopes, their sense of belonging and their

attachment to a meaningful ‘we’ and ‘our’. There can be no

covenant for social cohesion without participation, dialogue

and social consensus to establish public policy priorities,

design policies and evaluate their implementation and follow-

up, and this is especially true with respect to those who have

traditionally had no say in society. Several recent political

processes in Latin America have reflected disputes over how

to organize societies – with implications for civil law – with

some giving rise to constitutional reforms.

Politically speaking, inclusion involves a wide variety of

multifaceted social actors. This is the case of indigenous

peoples, who have become protagonists in ongoing strug-

gles for recognition and the full exercise of human rights in

a dynamic context of identity construction within a world of

strong interactions and geographical displacements. Indigenous

peoples can also contribute to development in a broader sense,

through some interpretations of well-being, harmony with

nature, quality of life and spiritual dimensions of shared lives.

Measures to remedy discrimination and exclusion as regards

Afro-descendent populations include policies to combat

discrimination, safeguard forms of cultural expression, promote

equal opportunities and foster coexistence in diversity.

The ideological construct of difference – which has varied

throughout history – can have a decisive impact on policies

that bring together the dynamics of difference and recognition,

particularism versus universalism, and symbolic belonging as

it relates to material inclusion. This is valid not only in the

case of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples as mentioned

above; gender identities and differences are particularly signif-

icant. Gender tensions run the length and breadth of societies;

it is thus crucial to implement policies to combat discrimi-

Social cohesion must be analysed in the light of the values on which it is built and the coexistence it enables

Image: María Elisa Bernal

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iffer