An analysis of the political and moral implications of 'mestizaje' for Michael Walzer's conception of community in the United States

This work uses Virgilio Elizondo's theologically based interpretation of mestizaje as a resource to address certain fundamental tensions that exist between ethnic communities and the political community in the United States, particularly as Michael Walzer has outlined those tensions in his philosophical reflections. Elizondo does this in at least three specific ways. First, he affirms the communitarian concern of unchosen identity, that is, that human identity is more than just the choices that individuals make, but the result of being a member of specific, yet plural, moral and ethnic communities. Second, Elizondo's interpretation of mestizaje affirms the liberal value of freedom, specifically the freedom of an individual to construct an identity by the choices he or she makes. Finally, Elizondo's vision of mestizaje highlights the complex matrix and overlap of the many different communities that demand an individual's loyalty. A mestizaje vision of multicultural relations encourages the mestizo/a and the marginalized person to be the agents for building greater social solidarity among the diverse ethnic, social, and political communities that make up the United States, going beyond the virtue of a minimal tolerance of others toward a stance of positive regard for more than one community. Elizondo's interpretation, thus, offers a way to understand American pluralism in both a more sociologically realistic way, and in a way that has a greater potential for leading to a more just and enriching multiculturalism.