Equality of Opportunity, Cultural Diversity and Claims for Fairness
Keywords:
equality of opportunity, opportunity, equality, cultural diversity, the fairness argument, multiculturalism, education
Abstract
The present paper examines some of the tensions, problems and challenges associated with claims for equality of opportunity (the fairness argument). The introductory part identifies three separate forms of justification for public education, including the argument associated with equality of opportunity. Part II examines in detail two questions that reveal part of the anatomy of equality of opportunity: (1) what an opportunity is, and (2) when individuals’ opportunities are equal. This is followed by a presentation of the two basic principles of equality of opportunity: (1) the principle of non-discrimination, and (2) the “levelling the playing field†principle. The next part takes up the multiculturalist hypothesis advanced by minority groups for the accommodation and recognition of cultural diversity. This is followed by the identification of a set of claims comprising the “fairness argumentâ€. The last section focuses on the “currency problem†associated with cultural diversity as a form of “unfair disadvantageâ€. Part V examines two of the major shortcomings associated with the multicultural conception of equality of opportunity, while the concluding part discusses some of the questions that must be answered by any conception of equal opportunities.
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References
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Barry, B. (2001). Culture and Equality. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Barry, B. (2005). Why Social Justice Matters. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bowie, N. E. (Ed.) (1988). Equal Opportunity. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Cavanagh, M. (2002). Against Equality of Opportunity. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Clayton, M. (2001). Rawls and Natural Aristocracy, Croatian Journal of Philosophy, 1(3), 239–259.
Fishkin, J. (1983). Justice, Equal Opportunity, and the Family. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Frankel, C. (1971). Equality of Opportunity, Ethics, 81(3), 191–211.
Friedman, M., & Friedman, R. (1980). Free to Choose: A Personal Statement. London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Goldman, A. (1987). The Justification of Equal Opportunity, Social Philosophy and Policy, 5(1), 88–103.
Hansson, S. O. (2004). What are Opportunities and Why Should They be Equal, Social Choice and Welfare, 22(2), 305–316.
Holtug, N. (2008). Equality and Difference-Blind Rights. In N. Holtug, K. Lippert-Rasmussen, & S. Laegaard (Eds.), Nationalism and Multiculturalism in a World of Immigration (pp. 81–118). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Holtug, N., Lippert-Rasmussen, K., & Laegaard, S. (Eds.) (2008). Nationalism and Multiculturalism in a World of Immigration. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Jacobs, L. A. (2004). Pursuing Equal Opportunities: The Theory and Practice of Egalitarian Justice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kymlicka, W. (1989). Liberalism, Community and Culture. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Kymlicka, W. (1995). Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kymlicka, W., & Banting, K. (Eds.) (2006). Multiculturalism and the Welfare State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
LukÅ¡iÄ Hacin, M., & Toplak, K. (2012). Teoretizacija multikulturalizma in etniÄne ekonomije v luÄi ohranjanja kulturne dediÅ¡Äine med migranti, Dve domovini, (35), 107–117.
Mason, A. (2006). Levelling the Playing Field. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Modood, T. (2007). Multiculturalism: A Civic Perspective. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Nagel, T. (1979). Mortal Questions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Parekh, B. (2000). Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory. New York: Palgrave.
Pojman, L. P., & Westmoreland, R. (Eds.) (1997). Equality: Selected Readings. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rawls, J. (1971). A Theory of Justice. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
Rawls, J. (2001). Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Harvard.
Roemer, J. E. (1998). Equality of Opportunity. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
SardoÄ, M. (2013a). Enake [izobraževalne] možnosti in družbena neenakost, Sodobna pedagogika, 64(2), 48– 62.
SardoÄ, M. (2013b). Anatomija enakih možnosti, Å olsko polje, XXIV(5/6), 145– 159.
Scanlon, T. M. (2003). The Difficulty of Tolerance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schaar, H. J. (1997 [1967]). Equality of Opportunity, and Beyond. In L. P. Pojman & R. Westmoreland (Eds.), Equality: Selected Readings (pp. 137–147). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Scheffler, S. (2003). What is Egalitarianism? Philosophy and Public Affairs, 31(1), 5–39.
Scheffler, S. (2005). Choice, Circumstance, and the Value of Equality? Politics, Philosophy and Economics, 4(5), 5–28.
Segall, S. (2008). Health, Luck and Justice. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Sher, G. (1988). Qualifications, Fairness, and Desert. In N. E. Bowie (Ed.), Equal Opportunity (pp. 113–127). Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Squires, J. (2006). Equality and Difference. In J. S. Dryzek, B. Honig & A. Phillips (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Political Theory (pp. 470–487). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Swift, A. (2001). Political Philosophy: A Beginner’s Guide for Students and Politicians. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Temkin, L. S. (1993). Inequality. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Westen, P. (1997 [1985]). The Concept of Equal Opportunity. In L. P. Pojman & R. Westmoreland (Eds.), Equality: Selected Readings (pp. 158–167). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Published
2016-06-30
How to Cite
SardoÄM. (2016). Equality of Opportunity, Cultural Diversity and Claims for Fairness. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 6(2), 25-41. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.86
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