Title: Groups and group rights /
Authors: Sistare, C. T. 1951-; May, Larry; Francis, Leslie, 1946-
Publisher: University Press of Kansas,
Year: 2001
Subjects: Social groups.; Civil rights.; Democracy
Abstract: "In matters such as affirmative action or home schooling, rights of ethnic and other minority groups often come into conflict with those of society in a culturally diverse population such as ours. But before considering the dilemmas posed by these issues, we must first ask such basic but important questions as what group rights are and how they intersect with the principles of democracy." "This new collection brings together some of today's leading thinkers from the cutting edge of these debates, taking in a broad range of issues confronting philosophers, sociologists, and political scientists. Contributors such as Carl Wellman, Carol Gould, and Rex Martin examine the nature of groups and the conflict between group rights and democracy and also consider case studies depicting current issues in cultural, ethnic, and religious rights." "The first section, on the nature of groups, examines some of the perplexing alternatives in the formulation of a theory of group rights. These articles investigate the kinds of rights minorities might claim and ask when groups can be held responsible for the acts of some of their members. The second section addresses the treatment of groups in a democracy and the precarious balance between indifference toward minorities and capitulation to their demands. Here the contributors examine five principles for the sensitive treatment of minority and disadvantaged groups in a democratic society." "A final section explores specific conflicts between subgroup and societal claims through case studies dealing with affirmative action, religious practice and the education of children, and the land rights of indigenous people. By drawing on the legal and political dilemmas related to these cases, the authors confront issues of core versus peripheral interests, of individual member versus subgroup rights, and of the possibilities for social openness raised in the preceding sections."--Jacket.
Contents: General introduction: groups, selves, and the state / Christine Sistare -- pt. 1. The nature of groups and group rights. Introduction: alternatives for a theory of group rights / Carl Wellman ; Group rights and social ontology / Carol C. Gould ; Nonvoluntary social groups / Ann E. Cudd ; What are group rights? / George Rainbolt ; Institutions: a technique for analyzing group entitlements / Christopher Gray ; Groups: rights, wrongs, and culture / Thomas W. Simon -- pt. 2. Groups and democratic theory. Introduction: groups and democratic theory / Larry May ; Democracy and the problem of persistent minorities / Steven Lee ; Group values and liberal democracy / Joan L. McGregor ; Rights, democracy, and distribution: economic justice / Rex Martin ; Duties of group membership: justice as reciprocity and liberal democratic institutions / Patricia Smith ; Recognition, identity, and the accommodation of differences: groups in the liberal state / Emily R. Gill -- pt. 3. Cultural, ethnic, and religious rights. Introduction: education, religion, and affirmative action / Leslie Francis ; Indigenous groups and American democracy: substantive approaches to cultural pluralism / Rebecca Tsosie ; Froup land rights / Edmund Abegg ; In defense of the diversity state / Robert N. Van Wyk ; Group rights, autonomy, and the free exercise of religion / Erik A. Anderson ; One cheer for affirmative action / William Nelson.