ABSTRACT
In many respects liberalism was secularised Christianity and reproduced many of the missionary attitudes to non-Europeans and colonialism. Although liberalism has undergone important changes in years, its capacity to appreciate and accommodate cultural diversity remains too limited to restrain its propensity towards cultural colonialism. John Locke, one of the founding fathers of liberalism, took on the critics and advanced an articulate philosophical defence of English colonialism that bore considerable resemblance to that of the Christian missionaries. The egalitarian potential of Christianity, liberalism and Marxism was emasculated by, among other things, their monistic vision of the good life. Marxism is one of the most radical and emancipatory projects in Western thought. Marxism has long remained too rigid to appreciate the need for a dialogue with its 'others', and it is difficult to foresee how it will respond in its current mood of despondency.
