Mc Kinnon Chapter 7 - Summary Issues in Political Theory PDF

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lecture 3a required reading. Utilitarianism and its critics....

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McKinnon Chapter 7 Multiculturalism Most states are made up of different cultures. Multiculturalism refers to the fact of cultural diversity. It highlights the importance of cultural identity. Liberal societies may impose serious burdens on minority citizens on account of their cultural origins. Assimilation is a policy that encourages cultural minorities to lose their distinctive norms to fit in with common culture. Multicultural thinkers prefer the notion of integration. Thick or Thin Multiculturalism? Thin – only weak disagreements over beliefs and values divide citizens in modern liberal states. Only takes into account groups that share liberal values and excludes those that are illiberal. Assumes that as long as a group has a fair opportunity to present their views publicly, if their interests are outvoted this should not be regarded as unfair. A group has no reason to consider the interest of others unless it has strategic reasons to do so. Thin multiculturalism is only workable if governments were to teach people to accept liberal values. It underestimates conflicts between cultures in a liberal society. Thick – recognizes deep disagreements between liberal and non-liberal groups. Recommends a modus vivendi – a compromise – to achieve peace and stability. It adopts policies that accommodates both parties. Liberals can then accept the claim of non-liberals. Groups that do not share liberal values may not approach matters with the same level of tolerance, for a strong illiberal culture modus vivendi might be based on self-interest rather than the desire for moral growth. Draws to simple a distinction between liberal and illiberal cultures which may alienate minority groups by insisting compromise is the only solution to cultural disagreements. Key Points –  Multiculturalism emphasises status, as well as economic inequalities  Thin multiculturalism views all cultural differences as disagreements between groups that agree on liberal values. This view may underestimate the extent of conflict between cultures.  Thick multiculturalism appreciates that some cultural differences occur between liberals and non-liberals  While the solution to cultural conflicts in thick multiculturalism is often modus vivendi, (a compromise) the question is whether this solution treats non-liberal minority cultures fairly Liberalism and cultural rights – Brian Barry criticise multicultural policies. He argues cultural divisiveness is inherently dangerous. Groups could use seemingly progressive philosophical notions in order to promote goals that multiculturalists themselves would not support. He believes multiculturalism could promote a divide and rule ethos that would divert attention from the problems common to many cultural groups e.g. poverty and poor housing. Citizens must all enjoy basic human rights, the government should appreciate that groups with societal cultures require special protection.

Liberals normally contend that only individuals not groups may have rights. Kymlicka shows that groups are consistent with liberalism. If liberals care about equality they should recognise that members of minority cultures have to struggle harder than those of the dominate society to develop an equal amount of basic goods. Kymlicka argues that there are different forms of group rights: one involves a group claim against its own member (an internal restriction); the other involves a claim of a group against the larger society (an external protection). Critics of cultural rights are usually concerned that internal restrictions might support coercion within patriarchal or otherwise conservative cultures, and that the human rights of women, children or homosexuals might be denied. By contrast, an external protection aims to protect the group form the nations policies regarding education, health care, or public funding that might affect the groups survival. Kymlicka sees the latter rights morally necessary. Key Points –  Defenders of cultural rights hold that the governments should recognise that all citizens deserve equal opportunities for developing self-respect and autonomy.  Developing self-respect and autonomy is thought to require stable cultural structure – that is, a basic set of inherent beliefs and customs.  In order to protect this structure, the liberal state sometimes needs to grant group specific rights  A group specific right enables a minority to preserve its traditions and thus to protect itself from the policies of the wider society  Not all group rights are permitted in a liberal society. Kymlicka distinguishes between different types of right. Morally permissible rights are called external protections and morally illegitimate ones are called internal restrictions. The latter are problematic because they deny individual civil liberties. Do cultural rights oppress the oppressed? – Granting group specific rights might support gender oppression. Defending cultural diversity involves supporting injustices against those who traditionally lack power. Those that lack power are often women. Okin argues that cultural minorities should not receive special support from their governments if doing so perpetuates harmful practices e.g. child marriage, female circumcision. Women of minority cultures should be encouraged to lose their cultural identity in order to fit in more easily with wider liberal societies. Is multiculturalism bad for women? – A great number of cultural norms and practices are sex discriminatory. The liberal feminist commitment to gender equality often entails rejecting claims for cultural independence. For many women of non-western origin living in a liberal culture would better protect their human rights. (In previous exam) Key Points –  By respecting cultural rights, a government risks supporting injustice against individuals within groups  Because those who lack power within groups are often women, a significant problem is that multiculturalism may be harmful for women.

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One might argue here that women should have the right to accept life in an illiberal culture, if they wish. Everyone should have the right to associate freely, as long as they also have the right to exit. Alternatively, one might hold that group rights and individual human rights need not inevitably conflict, if one focuses on promoting women’s capacities to contest cultural norms without renouncing their cultural identities.

Politics of recognition – Refers to policies and campaigns that are designed to create equal respect for marginalised groups in multicultural society’s. Defending cultural diversity might involve supporting group-specific rights, as well as overcoming hostile attitudes towards minority cultures in society at large. To this end the politics of recognition recommends greater political or media representation of minorities and expending the curricula in schools, amongst other things, in order to represent the cultural back grounds of all students. The dangers arising from the politics of recognition are similar to those affecting cultural rights in some ways. In particular the politics of recognition may a) extend only to cultures that conform to liberal values b) associate the groups identity too closely with particular practices, making it harder for future generations to reject these practices and c) ignore the real basis of minority groups inequality which may be ethnic or racial. Multiculturalism: open minded dialogue and common culture – Cultures are produced through dialogue. In a multicultural society, this conversation occurs between cultures – that is, between majorities and minorities – as well as within them. Parekh’s idea of a dialogically constituted multicultural society suggests two aspects to a multicultural society: one that is concerned with resolving conflicts; and another concerned with evolving a common life – composed of cuisine dance and literature. Conversation seems to be a mutually beneficial activity in a society divided by differences in belief and cultural identity....