The fact that identity is shaped through dialogical relations with others raises serious political questions about how adequate recognition can be achieved. On the one hand, proponents of a “politics of equal dignity” argue that recognition can only be accorded if all individuals enjoy the same rights and entitlements. On the other hand, advocates of a “politics of difference” argue that individuals and groups – in all their diversity – can only be properly recognized through an acknowledgment of their distinctness from others (Taylor 1992, 37-40). Taylor proceeds to elaborate an approach that traces a middle ground between these two positions (Nicholson 1996, 1). Ultimately, he argues that “procedural liberalism,” which rigidly upholds undifferentiated individual rights is “inhospitable to difference because it can’t accommodate what the members of distinct societies really aspire to, which is survival” (Taylor 1992, 61). What is necessary, therefore, is a form of liberalism that – while still upholding basic rights like habeas corpus – is willing to diverge from uniform treatment if the survival of a minority culture requires it. In Taylor’s words, the challenge then becomes “to deal with their sense of marginalization without compromising our basic political principles” (1992, 63). Taylor is careful to note that the imperative of cultural survival does not mean that all cultures are automatically owed equal respect (1992, 66). However, what is required is a presumption of worth. Based on this presumption, people must approach other cultures with a willingness to engage in what Gadamer called a “fusion of horizons” (quoted in Taylor 1992, 67). What Taylor means by this concept is meaningful engagement with the other so that one can make a judgement of value based (at least partly) on standards learned from the other culture. While there may be aspects that we choose to reject, we will almost certainly find other aspects worthy of our respect (Taylor 1992, 67; Schaap 2004, 528-9). Given the reality that, to an increasing degree, diverse cultures must find ways to live together, Taylor views this approach as both a practical and moral obligation.
APTN National News. 2012. “Mulcair Calls on Harper to Heed Idle No More and Commit to Reconciliation.” Accessed April 19, 2013. ---. 2013. “Idle No More, Defenders of the Land Form Alliance, Call for Sovereignty Summer.” Accessed April 18, 2013. Bannerji, Himani. 2000. The Dark Side of the Nation. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press. Bashir, Bashir and Will Kymlicka. 2008. “Introduction.” In The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies, edited by Will Kymlicka and Bashir Bashir, 1-24. New York: Oxford University Press. Benhabib, Seyla. 2002. The Claims of Culture: Equality and Diversity in the Global Era. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Borrows, John. 1998. “Frozen Rights in Canada: Constitutional Interpretation and the Trickster” American Indian Law Review 22 (1): 37-64. Bruyneel, Kevin. 2012. “Political Science and the Study of Indigenous Politics.” Indigenous Nations and Peoples Law eJournal 8 (26). CBC News. 2013. “9 Questions About Idle No More.” Accessed April 15, 2013. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2013/01/04/f-idlenomore-faq.html Christie, Gordon. 2011. “Indigeneity and Sovereignty in Canada’s Far North: The Arctic and Inuit Sovereignty.” The South Atlantic Quarterly 110 (2): 329-46. Connolly, Julie, Michael Leach, and Lucas Walsh. 2007. “Introduction.” In Recognition in Politics: Theory, Policy, and Practice edited by Julie Connolly, Michael Leach, and Lucas Walsh. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Corntassel, Jeff and Cindy Holder. 2008. “Who’s Sorry Now? Government Apologies, Truth Commissions, and Indigenous Self-Determination in Australia, Canada, Guatemala, and Peru.” Human Rights Review 9 (4). Coulthard, Glen. 2007. “Subjects of Empire: Indigenous Peoples and the ‘Politics of Recognition’ in Canada.” Contemporary Political Theory 6: 437-60. Day, Richard. 2000. Multiculturalism and the History of Canadian Diversity. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Woolford, Andrew. 2005. Between Justice and Certainty: Treaty Making in British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press. Zurn, Christopher. 2003. “Identity or Status? Struggles over ‘Recognition’ in Fraser, Honneth, and Taylor.” Constellations 10 (4): 519-37.