All major Western countries contain groups that differ from the mainstream and from each other in religious beliefs, customary practices, or cultural ideas. How should public policy respond to this diversity? Brian Barry challenges the currently orthodox answer and develops a powerful restatement of an egalitarian liberalism for the twenty-first century.

목차 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 Identity 5) 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 The Abuse of `Culture' 7. `It's a Part of My Culture' 1) Up the Creek in the Black Canoe 2) The Equal Value of Cultures 3) Does Equal Treatment Require Equal Value? 4) The Limits of Conventionalism 5) The Limits of Universalism 8. 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