Culture and Equality : An Egalitarian Critique of Multiculturalism

Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Contents; Preface; Part I Multiculturalism and Equal Treatment; 1 Introduction; 1 Losing Our Way; 2 The Flight from Enlightenment; 3 A Brief Overview; 2 The Strategy of Privatization; 1 Cultural Diversity; 2 Privatization and Pluralism; 3 Equal Treatment; 4 The Rule-and-Exemption Approach; 5 A Pragmatic Case for Exemptions; 6 Culture and Job Discrimination; 3 The Dynamics of Identity: Assimilation, Acculturation and Difference; 1 Vive la Difference?; 2 Liberalism and the 'Ideal of Assimilation'; 3 Assimilation: Good, Bad or Indifferent?;All major western countries today contain groups that differ in their religious beliefs, customary practices or ideas about the right way in which to live. How should public policy respond to this diversity? In this important new work, Brian Barry challenges the currently orthodox answer and develops a powerful restatement of an egalitarian liberalism for the twenty-first century. Until recently it was assumed without much question that cultural diversity could best be accommodated by leaving cultural minorities free to associate in pursuit of their distinctive ends within the limits imposed by. Cover Title Page Copyright Contents Preface Part I Multiculturalism and Equal Treatment 1 Introduction 1 Losing Our Way 2 The Flight from Enlightenment 3 A Brief Overview 2 The Strategy of Privatization 1 Cultural Diversity 2 Privatization and Pluralism 3 Equal Treatment 4 The Rule-and-Exemption Approach 5 A Pragmatic Case for Exemptions 6 Culture and Job Discrimination 3 The Dynamics of Identity: Assimilation, Acculturation and Difference 1 Vive la Difference? 2 Liberalism and the 'Ideal of Assimilation' 3 Assimilation: Good, Bad or Indifferent? 4 Varieties of National Identity5 National Identity in Practice 6 The Dodo's Dictum 7 The 'Myth of Merit' 8 Language and Opportunity Part II Multiculturalism and Groups 4 Theories of Group Rights 1 The Concept of a Group Right 2 Liberalism and Autonomy 3 Liberalism and Diversity 4 Cultural Relativism and Toleration 5 Outline of a Theory of Group Rights 5 Liberal States and Illiberal Religions 1 The Claims of Free Association 2 An Alternative Approach 3 The Limits of Toleration 4 In Defence of 'Asymmetry' 5 The Amish and the State. 6 Are Amish Communities Voluntary Associations?6 The Public Stake in the Arts and Education 1 The Limits of Laissez-Faire 2 Can Liberalism Cope with Children? 3 The Locus of Decision-Making 4 Functional Education 5 Education for Living 6 Societal Interests in Education 7 Multicultural Education 8 Parental Rights in Education Part III Multiculturalism, Universalism and Egalitarianism 7 The Abuse of 'Culture' 1 'It's a Part of My Culture' 2 Up the Creek in the Black Canoe 3 The Equal Value of Cultures 4 Does Equal Treatment Require Equal Value? 5 The Limits of Conventionalism. 6 The Limits of Universalism8 The Politics of Multiculturalism 1 The Curious Political Success of Multiculturalism 2 Multiculturalism versus Democracy 3 If Multiculturalism Is the Answer, What Was the Question? 4 Culture versus Equality Notes Index.

All major western countries today contain groups that differ in their religious beliefs, customary practices or ideas about the right way in which to live. How should public policy respond to this diversity? In this important new work, Brian Barry challenges the currently orthodox answer and develops a powerful restatement of an egalitarian liberalism for the twenty-first century.

Until recently it was assumed without much question that cultural diversity could best be accommodated by leaving cultural minorities free to associate in pursuit of their distinctive ends within the limits imposed by a common framework of laws. This solution is rejected by an influential school of political theorists, among whom some of the best known are William Galston, Will Kymlicka, Bhikhu Parekh, Charles Taylor and Iris Marion Young. According to them, this 'difference-blind' conception of liberal equality fails to deliver either liberty or equal treatment. In its place, they propose that the state should 'recognize' group identities, by granting groups exemptions from certain laws, publicly 'affirming' their value, and by providing them with special privileges or subsidies.

In Culture and Equality, Barry offers an incisive critique of these arguments and suggests that theorists of multiculturism tend to misdiagnose the problems of minority groups. Often, these are not rooted in culture, and multiculturalist policies may actually stand in the way of universalistic measures that would be genuinely beneficial.