Immigrant Groups That Restrict Individual Rights

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Of course some people argue that it is impossible to know whether or not the well-being or freedom of an individual is tied up in any way with the flourishing of the culture. The problem with this criticism is that the culture a person is brought up in is part of their unchosen circumstances. But the biggest criticism against multiculturalism deals with granting all minority rights. Some minority rights might enable a group to deny education or health care to children or treat women as second class citizens. As a result defender of multiculturalism have to clearly distinguish the line between minority rights that restrict individual rights and those that supplement individual rights. Kymlicka proposes distinguishing between two kinds of minority …show more content…

Instead of resisting nation building immigrant groups require a more tolerant approach to integration “that would allow and support immigrants to maintain various aspects of their ethnic heritage” (Kymlicka 354). It is necessary to recognize that immigrant groups deserve the same degree of respect, recognition, and accommodation that the majority group has had. Integration is not an overnight process and it is necessary that the policies implemented to integrate immigrants are morally fair. Unlike immigrants, isolationist ethnoreligious groups are unconcerned about their marginalization for the larger society. Rather than desire better integration policies, these groups seek exemption from various laws. This view contradicts with nation building as the purpose of nation building is to integrate citizens into a modern societal culture (Kymlicka 356). However, most democratic states allow these groups to separate from the rest of society but impose internal restrictions so these isolationist groups do not harm people inside the