Мултикултурализам и индивидуална права
Multiculturalism and Individual Rights

Summary/Abstract: This article questions present position of multiculturalism as political and philosophical theory. Namely, through analysis of three phases of the debate through which multiculturalism has undergone – as it is explained by Will Kymlicka, one of its eminent advocates – this article shows that transgression from the first, mainly communitarian oriented phase, toward the second, liberal oriented one, is theoretically unjustified and unfounded. This also implies that present, “third” phase of multiculturalist’s preoccupation is not self-evident, as it is often perceived by its supporters. Therefore Kymlicka’s legitimization of multiculturalism is questioned through several steps. In the first instance, it is demonstrated that multiculturalism – in its intention to be integrated in liberal theory – inevitably makes improper reduction and impoverishment of the notions of individual rights and freedoms (as conceived in the tradition of classical liberalism). In the second instance, it is shown that this kind of treatment is not distinctive feature of multiculturalism - it is also common to the whole spectrum of political theories based on “welfare state” ideology. In that way, the main concepts of these theories are being questioned (“politics of redistribution”, “collective rights”, “positive freedom”, “positive discrimination”, “politics of re- cognition”) in order to indicate their anti-liberal connotations, and also, retroactively, that multiculturalism does not deserve to be labeled as “li- beral” theory. The final conclusion of this paper is that multiculturalism can hardly be defended against collectivism accusations.

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