The Politics Of Recognition Taylor Summary

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In his essay The Politics of Recognition, Charles Taylor explains that minority groups engage in the politics of multiculturalism when they need and demand recognition. He argues that this demand occurs because people’s identity is shaped by recognition; a group of people can thus suffer if they are misrecognized. Taylor points out that there are two changes that gave rise to the discourse of identity and recognition: the collapse of social hierarchies and the modern notion of dignity. He expands further on the politics of equal recognition in the public sphere. He contends that the politics of equal recognition paradoxically means a politics of universalism as well as a politics of difference. He criticizes the politics of universalism by arguing that the “neutral difference-blind principles” of the politics of equal dignity inevitably reflect the dominant culture at the expense of minority cultures. He moreover maintains that liberalism “can’t and shouldn’t claim complete cultural neutrality” (Taylor 62). Overall, Taylor argues for a politics of recognition in order to ensure the survival of minority and suppressed groups. …show more content…

He argues that traditional human rights should be supplemented with minority rights. He maintains that a multicultural state should include both universal rights and certain group-differentiated rights for minority cultures. Kymlicka believes that there are dangers to the recognition of minority rights. Thus, he supports a liberal approach where minority rights can coexist with human rights while being limited by democratic principles. He moreover argues that there is no single solution that can be applied to all minority groups and therefore distinguishes between national minorities and ethnic

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