Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights

by Will Kymlicka

Book Overview

The increasingly multicultural fabric of modern societies has given rise to many new issues and conflicts, as ethnic and national minorities demand recognition and support for their cultural identity. This book presents a new conception of the rights and status of minority cultures. It argues that certain "collective rights" of minority cultures are consistent with liberal democratic principles, and that standard liberal objections to such rights...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0198279493
• ISBN13: 9780198279495
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Great book

Kymlicka's Multiculturalism well explains about the importance of cultural pluralism and how to equally treat and respect each distinctive group in the multi nation state such as USA and Canada. This book is not so entertaining, rather it's more like scholastic text book, however the book was very knowledgeable and helpful to understand and accept the reality of multiculturalism in the United States. There's no doubt that Kymlicka's argument and examples to support his thesis were impressively logical and reasonable. Because each typical group is very clearly categorized and precisely explained, it's not so difficult to understand. Recommended for people who're interested in Philosophy, Law, Politics, Sociology etc.

A strong argument for multiculturalism

Kymlicka's arguement is both forceful and articulate, making Multicultural Citizenship a valuable work for both specialists and those simply currious about political thought and multiculturalism. While by no means perfect, this book does an admirable and subtle job of reconciling individual and group rights within the context of the liberal-democratic state.

Individual and collective rights

Kymlicka covers the issues related to each of individual and collective rights, as well as comparing them to each other. He provides a really interesting outlook on the ways in which the quest for rights for any group of people can result in conflict. I suppose I like this book so well because it follows my own philosophical view on people claiming rights in general, that at some point if we were to claim all rights we believe we're entitled to, we would eventually come into conflict with someone else's human rights. As such, we must necessarily make sacrifices of some rights in order to live peaceably among all people. Kymlicka doesn't really say that as I do, but much of what he discusses seems to be related to it.

important work

Along with Tamir's "Liberal Nationalism" and Miller's "On Nationality", "Multicultural Citizenship" is fast becoming a classic work on liberal nationalism. Of the 3, Kymlicka's may be the most clearly laid out. It uses case material, particularly that of aboriginals in Canada, very effectively. A more refined version of some of the arguments presented in "Liberalism, Community, Culture". Highly recommended.

An excellent treatise on a thorny issue

This is a long-awaited book. Those who believe that the liberal tradition requires a back row, laissez-faire attitude to the problems of minorities are put to flight. Kymlicka shows clearly that there has been a long tradition of leading liberals who have felt that in order for national minorities to be as free as majorities, they need affirmative action to counteract the all-pervading influence of dominant cultures, through the education system, the media, and the general majority discourse.He sees the individual's freedom as the right to belong to his of her ancestral group, and this of course means that unless the group's rights are recognised and implemented, the individual that belongs to the group cannot be a free person. Kymlicka distinguishes neatly between minorities whose aim is to be considered and treated as the same as anyone else (that is, anyone belonging to the dominant group): women, Afroamericans, etc.; and between minorities who wish not to lose their differentiated culture and identity: American Indians, Quebeckers, Catalans, Welsh, etc. He points out to majority members that what they take for granted is neither the only worldview possible, nor the best worldview, and defends minorities' right to hold other views, their own.He is also masterly in drawing the limits to allowing national minorities full control over their own affairs: naturally, no-one should tolerate practices, however ancient, which clash with universal human rights. These include the individual's freedom to leave the group, the rejection of female ablation, etc.The fact that the book has been published in Catalan attests to its international appeal.