Will Kymlicka

From Freepedia

Will Kymlicka is a Canadian political philosopher.

Kymlicka received his B.A. in philosophy and politics from Queen's University in 1984, and his D.Phil. in philosophy from Oxford University in 1987. He has written several books on culture, race, and politics; these, and his other works have been extensively translated. He is currently (2004) a philosophy professor at Queen's University.

Kymlicka is a leader in the field of philosophy of multiculturalism. One of his main concerns throughout his work is providing a liberal framework for the just treatment of minority groups, which he divides into two basic categories: polyethnic or immigrant groups, and national minorities (such as the Canadian Quebecois, or the Maori of New Zealand). In addition to these two basic groups, Kymlicka acknowledges the problems that refugees, whether from conflict or poverty, and minority groups such as African-Americans (whose heritage in America clearly did not begin voluntarily) pose for his bivalent distinction.

In Multicultural Citizenship, Kymlicka argues that group-specfic rights are both consistent with liberalism, and even particularly appropriate if not outright demanded, in certain situations. He delimits three such group-specific rights: special group representation rights (such as affirmative action policies in politics), self-government rights, and polyethnic rights (such as the policy exempting Sikhs from having to wear motorcycle helmets).

A distinction that Kymlicka draws, which is crucial to his liberal defense of group-specific rights for minorities is that between external protection and internal restrictions. Kymlicka argues that external protections between groups may be justified in order to promote equality (though they must not allow for oppression or exploitation, as in Apartheid in South Africa). Internal restrictions, however, cannot be justified from a liberal perspective, insofar as they restrict a person's autonomy, though they may be granted in certain cases to national minorities.