Will Kymlicka on Minority Rights

Should minority groups such as recent immigrants be given rights that other citizens don't have? Will Kymlicka believes that they should. The difficulty of reconciling apparently preferential treatment with a policy of equality is a central one for anyone committed to multiculturalism. He addresses this important issue in this episode of Philosophy Bites.

Listen to Will Kymlicka on Minority Rights

Previously on Philosophy Bites:

Anne Phillips on Multiculturalism

Kwame Anthony Appiah on Cosmopolitanism

Comments

[Scott Hughes]

Minorities generally do not receive the same amount of rights as the majority, so I see no reason to bother with special rights. They just need equal rights.

[Muzz]

So what do you mean by equal rights? Does that mean the equal right to assimilate into the majority culture? Bit of a problem there a... Surely equal rights means been able to pursue equality within their own culture?

[Nic Dafis]

I listened to this yesterday (I'm catching up with old PB podcasts) and was impressed with the clarity of the discussion. The big story in yesterday's newspaper was Cameron's comments on immigration and the English language (http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/apr/14/david-cameron-immigrants-learn-english) but a story that I guess didn't get so much coverage outside of Wales was the one about a hotel on Ynys Môn that has banned its staff from speaking Welsh in the kitchen, as the head chef is an English immigrant (http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2011/04/14/anglesey-hotel-bans-kitchen-staff-from-speaking-welsh-55578-28518306/). The dual-standard is striking, but the discussion rarely raises above the level of name-calling, unfortunately.