Liberalism, Community and Culture

Author: (Canada) Will Kymlicka
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-05-01
Features: This book is Kymlicka's concentrated defense and revision of the Western liberal tradition. It is divided into three parts:
1. A theoretical (comprehension) of the spirit of the liberal tradition (e.g., from Mill to Rawls), and a distinction and exploration of the main debates within the liberal (current), such as Rawls's critique of utilitarianism, and the disputes between Nozick, Dworkin, and others with Rawls, etc.
2. Framed by the discussion of the fundamental relationships between individuals and communities, and between communities and the state, it introduces the various criticisms of liberalism from its main opponents, such as communitarianism (e.g., Taylor, Marx, etc.), and clarifies and distinguishes them one by one. Thus, within the scope of political moral philosophy, it defends the core of liberal thought.
3. Placing this political moral philosophical debate in a specific historical context—the contemporary multicultural society and the nation-state—to examine the political status and legal status of marginalized minority cultural groups (specifically analyzing the policies of indigenous peoples in the U.S. and Canada, and the apartheid policies in South Africa). It proposes the new concept and perspective of "cultural membership" to adjust and supplement previous liberal theories in response to the moral philosophical challenges posed by political practice.
Will Kymlicka is a renowned Canadian philosopher. He received a Bachelor's degree in philosophy and political science from Queen's University in 1984 and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Oxford in 1987. He is currently a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Queen's University in Canada. Kymlicka is a prolific author, with major works including: Liberalism, Community, and Culture (1989), Contemporary Political Philosophy (1990), Multicultural Citizenship (1995), The Strands of Belonging: Reflections on Ethnicity, Identity, and Multiculturalism in Canada (1998), and Minority Rights (2001). Additionally, he has served as the editor of works such as The Fairness of Political Philosophy (1992) and The Rights of Cultural Minorities (1995). Some of his works have been translated into 21 languages.