Is anyone special? This all-encompassing question strikes at the heart of whether certain minority groups should be awarded their own specific rights. The answer to this question considers the important liberal principles of equality and freedom (Kymlicka 345). At its simplest form, there could be equal rights for all, or rights that make everyone equal. To answer this question, I will show that the idea of nation-building has been permitted to deviate from benign neglect for the instrumental purpose of bringing about some goals of a liberal democratic state: solidarity, trust, and deliberative democracy, and that in doing so, it harms another liberal democratic goal: equality of opportunity. I argue that since this deviation is permitted, group-specific rights, used to protect multiculturalism, are justified in that mitigate the harm done by nation-building.
Will Kymlicka, professor of philosophy at Queen’s University, asserts that multiculturalism is the rejection of the notion that there could be a “normal” citizen, referring to the “able-bodied, heterosexual white male” (327). Moreover, he defines multiculturalism’s function: that it “recognizes [previously excluded groups’] identities, and accommodates their differences”. He gives examples of previously excluded groups, such as non-white people, indigenous people, and gays (327, 349). I will define these people as minority groups. Since multiculturalism recognizes and accommodates differences by rejecting “exclusion, marginalization, silencing, or assimilation” it is clear that multiculturalism seeks to establish a regime of liberty and equality between all groups (327).
The second key term, “liberal democracy”, is used specifically in this case, as it is the fram...
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Hudon, R.. "Bill 101 - The Canadian Encyclopedia." The Canadian Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. .
Mill, J.S.. "Introductory." On Liberty. 1859. Reprint. Kitchener, Canada: Batoche Books Limited, 2001. 14. Print.
Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary Political Philosophy: An Introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.
Taylor, Charles, and Amy Gutmann (ed.). "The Politics of Recognition." Multiculturalism and "The Politics of Recognition": An Essay. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1992. 37-38. Print.
Taylor, Charles. "Nationalism and Modernity." Dilemmas and Connections: Selected Essays. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011. 84. Print.
Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Fourth ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. 247-316. Print.
middle of paper ... ... Given that multiculturalism is a framework that says that anyone can sit at the table so long as they accept certain political and cultural divisions which ultimately work to make impossible your ability to change the basic structure of meaning in society, or which seek to extract any political potential from the things you say, the things you embody and the things you want. You can have holidays, but not your language. You can have a month of the year for your race, but no justice.
Mill, John Stuart, “On Liberty. ch. 1, 3,” from Project Gutenberg Web site: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/34901, No. 01/10, Pp. 1-19, Public Domain, 2011
Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), 326.
First, I will discuss the influences of different definitions of diversity in cultural unification. The major problem concerning this issue is that many people differ in the real meaning of the concept and how they view their personal involvement. Brook argues that “we do not really care about diversity all that much in America, even though we talk about it a great deal” (306). However, they are the general, erroneous interpretations of diversity that are really creating this wrong image of indifference. According to Kira Hudson Banks in her research entitled “A Qualitative Investigation of Students’ Perceptions of Diversity,” many people defined diversity as race and do not include other types of diversity (153).
Foner, Eric. "Chapter 9." Give Me Liberty!: An American History. Brief Third ed. Vol. One. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. N. pag. Print.
Foner, E. (2008). Give me Liberty: An American History. New York, Ny: WW. Norton &
Foner, E. (2013). Give me liberty! an american history. (Seagull 4th ed., Vol. 2, p. 708).
4.de Toqueville, Alexis. Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty: An American History (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2008), 358.
Explaining how to challenge the discriminatory attitudes that remain rampant throughout the world, Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in a recent article, quotes the incisive words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "We are all of equal worth, born equal in dignity and born free and for this reason deserving respect. . . . We belong in a world whose very structure, whose essence, is diversity almost bewildering in extent, and it is to live in a fool's paradise to ignore this basic fact."
30.) Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. 4th ed. (W.W. Norton, 2012), 599.
middle of paper ... ... This comment suggests that the current idea, liberalism, may just be a phase in human ideology that has spread worldwide. Though he made a compelling argument and posed thought provoking questions that supported his argument, the flaws in his argument, after stringent analysis, contradict his main points. Works Cited Ferguson, C. (Director).
The mention of the abolition of multiculturalism for a “new” post-multiculturalist approach becomes difficult to understand. It claims, “to avoid the ‘excesses’ of multiculturalism” (47), however where does this notable governmental and social switch take place? How is the term coined, and how is it understood in theory versus in practice? How is it different from its predecessor? Even the classification of history struggles to define what is considered to be modern, let alone post-modern, and yet the term suggests a positive approach to alleviating difficult assimilation projects similar to those faced elsewhere (47). This notion may developed on the grounds of “someone else’s problems” ¬– in regards to its Canadian context – as a means to label, or justify, miscellaneous aspects of multiculturalism. However, with the government-wide commitment to policies and programs, in conjunction with social understanding, it naturally becomes subject to a wide array of differing opinions. As both immigration and citizenship policies change, its public reception often shifts as well. Especially since the channels referred to within the ‘multiculturalism...
The minority rights in a democratic society appear to even out with the majority rule in an unusual way. There are some incidents where the minority may have loss, but on the other hand won. For example, when Rosa Parks didn’t give up her seat on that hot Alabama day, she stood up to the majority tyranny. The majority won by putting her in jail, however; the minority prevailed by establishing the civil rights movements.
In his article “The Failure of Multiculturalism”, Kenan Malik uses the diverse European culture to study and explain the irony of multiculturalism. He defines multiculturalism as “the embrace of an inclusive, diverse society” (Malik 21). Integration between cultures is practically inevitable, but several nations view this as a threat towards upholding their culture. Due to this, many countries have made attempts at properly integrating new people and ideas while trying to prevent the degradation of their own. This can result in unjust regulations and the reverse effect of an intended multicultural society.