Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

12-2002

Abstract

According to Will Kymlicka's book Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights, `the liberal ideal is a society of free and equalindividuals'.1 But what, he goes on to ask, is the relevant `society'? The answer he says most people would give is `their nation'. `The sort of freedom and equality they most value, and can make use of is freedom and equality within their own societal culture'. Indeed, most people `are willing to forgo a wider freedom and equality to ensure the continued existence of their nation' (93). Thus few favour open borders which allow people freely to settle, work and vote in whatever country they wish, for while this would greatly expand the domain of freedom and equality, it would also increase the likelihood of their country being overrun by settlers from other cultures, thereby endangering their own survival as adistinct national culture. Most people favour `decreased mobility but a greaterassurance that people can continue to be free and equal members of their own national culture' (93). Kymlicka concurs, and he also suggests that `most theorists in the liberal tradition have implicitly agreed with this' (93). Like John Rawls, liberal theorists (according to Kymlicka) assume that people are born and are expected to lead a complete life within the same society and culture, and assume that this defines the scope within which people must be free and equal. To put it more bluntly, `most liberals are liberal nationalists'.

Discipline

International Relations | Political Science

Research Areas

Political Science

Publication

Journal of Political Philosophy

Volume

5

Issue

4

First Page

406

Last Page

427

ISSN

0963-8016

Identifier

10.1111/1467-9760.00041

Publisher

Wiley

Copyright Owner and License

Publisher

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9760.00041

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