Theory and practice in intercultural education remain problematic as they continue to reflect the tensions between universalistic and particularistic agendas. Particularism is manifested in a culturalist narrative which is mired in a failure to subject relativistic postmodernism to adequate critique. At the same time, universalism is frequently displayed in an attachment to utopian globalism which denies social complexities, divisions and inequalities. This has resulted in conceptualisations of intercultural education which are either wedded to an uncritical multiculturalism or to a futuristic universe of cultural unity. If intercultural education is to involve the mutual legitimation of collective existence it must focus on the concerns of young people as experienced in their immediate relationships. As such, it moves away from reified notions of cultural identity towards the realism of multiple identities, localised tensions, conflicts and affiliations. In addition, this alternative approach places critical engagement and the pursuit of justice at the centre of intercultural education. In this way, connections between the local and the global can be explored on the basis of an agenda based on the assumption of material and other inequalities which may be diverge from conventional cultural, ethnic and national contexts. Thus, intercultural education directs its attention to such issues as: resource allocation, the environment, collective decision-making, and social welfare. Above all, a central aspect of this approach is the application of reasoned enquiry in the process of communication and intercultural dynamics in the educational context.