Summary Of Equality Renewed

One of the major problems with supporting the protection of culture, as pointed out in chapter five of Equality Renewed, is the limitations that some members of certain cultures face. Although some cultures may seem to provide a range of options, they also tend to limit the options available by discouraging individuals from their freedom of choice, acting mostly with the goal of restricting choice (Sypnowich, 94). This I believe to be wrong, because making an individual feel trapped inside a culture can lead to resentment and an identity crisis. Inhibiting choice is essentially inhibiting one’s autonomy, which is moving in the wrong direction toward human flourishing. Shachar’s solution is one that at first I thought may be a valuable one, but I agree with the problems it creates. Splitting authority between a state and group, allowing individuals to opt out from their cultural rules and request state intervention when they feel they are being treated unjustly would work if the group’s goal was not to inhibit choice, rather to provide security and a place of comfort and belonging to its members. However, in this solution,

On the one hand I realize that the state is needed to provide support in many ways within a community, but the state siding with a majority culture can alienate those that are not a part of it, whether or not it is by choice. There needs to be a larger state-culture that is open and supportive of all sub-cultures of those who live in a society. This state-culture must place value on things that promote flourishing and autonomy, whilst embracing the differences between people and groups. There should be equal access to all sub-cultures, with no single culture showing primacy over others. Culture plays a huge role in defining how we identify, so we need to be careful when dealing with a structure that has the potential to influence so many