Contemporary Liberalism & Rights

In today's society we hear a common plea for identity and recognition especially from Minority groups, some forms of feminism and the politics of "multiculturalism." They claim identity is partly shaped by recognition or its absence, and thus a person can suffer distortion of identity: an inferior image of themselves from demeaning social conditions.

Raging debate over multiculturalism permeates nearly every facet of academic endeavor. Political philosophers are as embroiled in these discussions as any others. Theoretical traditions are being reexamined in light of demands for group representation in political participation and resource distribution. Scholarly attention to the "recognition" and "difference" of cultural groups suggests that a multicultural agenda must address histories of exclusion and domination. Multiculturalism aspires to replace discriminatory practices with equal status relationships in an inclusionary public realm. For political philosophers this agenda raises the question: What theoretical orientation is most hospitable to the ideals of multiculturalism, and consistent with a multicultural public ethos?

William J. Meyer, writing in "the Politics of Differentiated Citizenship," says of the tension between individual and group rights in contemporary socio-political analysis:

The 'new pluralism,' however narrowly or broadly it conceives relevant groups, does not addr

. . .
omote "multiculturalism" in fact created the basis within society for the multiculturalists to have the opportunity to make their arguments. A large part of Kymlicka's project in "Liberalism, Community, and Culture," is to reconcile modern liberal theory with the notion of culture as a primary good. Kymlicka bases the importance of this project around the protection of minority rights on both philosophical and pragmatic grounds. He acknowledges that for liberalism to remain a dynamic and robust political philosophy, it must respond to eminent and immanent concerns regarding its supposed lack of theoretical attention to the relationship between individual and community. (Kymlicka, 1989, 145) Kymlicka asserts that defending minority rights within liberalism requires two things: 1) showing that cultural membership has a more important status in liberal thought than is explicitly recognized; and 2) showing that the members of minority cultures may face particular kinds of disadvantages with respect to the good of cultural membership which require and justify minority rights. (Kymlicka, 1989, 154) Kymlica states: "Liberals should be concerned with the fate of cultural structures, not because they have some moral status of their
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
HUMAN RIGHTS, ASSIMILATION Assimilation, CONCLUSIONS Multiculturalism's, Politics Recognition, Satanic Verses, LIBERALISM INTRODUCTION, Community Culture, Differentiated Citizenship, According Hegel, Hence Rawls', kymlicka 1989, rawls 1985, politics difference, conception justice, university press, political conception, taylor 1992, political conception justice, politics recognition, individual rights, social conditions, modern liberal theory, liberalism community culture, removed political agenda, rules participation public,
Approximate Word count = 3791
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)

More Essays on Contemporary Liberalism & Rights