Nationalism is dead, long live nationalism! In pursuit of pluralistic nationalism: A critical overview

Rather than vilifying or rejecting it, an increasing number of scholars from two seemingly anti-nationalist cohorts, namely liberal political theory and multiculturalism, have come to argue that nationalism is not intrinsically illiberal or undesirable, but some forms of it (e.g. liberal, multicultural, pluralistic) can be a positive force to meet the demands for nation-building, national identity and national culture, on the one hand, and demands for recognition, respect and accommodation of diversity, on the other. This paper critically examines recent scholarly literature on liberal nationalism and multicultural nationalism. It argues that both projects have developed necessary responses to (1) growing diversity and (2) ethnonational and populist-majoritarian forms of nationalism and hence, are welcome. However, two substantial shortcomings need to be addressed. The first is the nation-building–education nexus and the limits of multicultural education (e.g. the teaching of history), and the second is the nationalism–transnationalism nexus or the normative desirability of dual nationalities. The paper concludes that a morally acceptable form of nationalism (e.g. pluralistic, inclusive or moderate) operating within multi-national and multicultural liberal democracies is theoretically possible, yet its viability is related to the extent to which it addresses the two issues raised, amongst others.

THE VULNERABILITY AND RATIONALISATION OF PROSTITUTES WITHIN MERITOCRATIC CAPITALISM~SOUTHEAST ASIAN MIGRANT WORKERS IN TAIWAN

This study sought an insightful understanding of the effects of social meritocratic capital—an inevitable phenomenon/mechanism whereby individuals receive social recognition, respect, and other benefits due to their monetary achievement—on Southeast Asian migrant workers’ behaviours and their ingrained perceptions through investigating their life stories and inner voices reflecting the factors inducing them to participate in the prostitution world. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was employed to scrutinise the qualitative data collected from a series of in-depth interviews with four Southeast Asian migrant women in Taiwan. This study led to the following conclusions: (1) These migrant workers moved overseas due to their pure and simple intention of pursuing better lives for themselves and their family; (2) The internal factors (family reputation and wellbeing) and external ones (unexpected events and a meritocratic society) simultaneously pulled and pushed them, eventually turning them out of their normal careers; (3) They were stuck in the very depths of an extravagant but vicious world by the shock, even attraction, of “big money” characterising a meritocratic capitalist order; and (4) Innocence and ‘purity’ get lost easily, even unconsciously, in the social context of meritocratic capitalism and wishful rationalisation of questionable behaviours, flouting convention and morality, with self-sacrifice and compensation, and self-rationalisation.

Tolerance, Intolerance, and Recognition in Early Christianity and Early Judaism

This collection of essays investigates signs of toleration, recognition, respect and other positive forms of interaction between and within religious groups of late antiquity. At the same time, it acknowledges that examples of tolerance are significantly fewer in ancient sources than examples of intolerance and are often limited to insiders, while outsiders often met with contempt, or even outright violence. The essays take both perspectives seriously by analysing the complexity pertaining to these encounters. Religious concerns, ethnicity, gender and other social factors central to identity formation were often intertwined and they yielded different ways of drawing the limits of tolerance and intolerance. This book enhances our understanding of the formative centuries of Jewish and Christian religious traditions. It also brings the results of historical inquiry into dialogue with present-day questions of religious tolerance.

Relational Egalitarianism and Democracy

Relational egalitarians argue that democratic institutions are justified by appeal to relational equality. According to the skeptical challenge, equality of political power is not required for relational equality, and the relational egalitarian case for democracy fails. I defend the relational egalitarian justification of democracy. I develop an analysis of social status and show that inequalities of power will not entail inequalities of status. I then show that inequalities of power will robustly cause inequalities of status and argue that this vindicates the relational egalitarian case for democracy, because such theories have a much more pragmatic standard of success for the justification of democracy than conceptual necessity. I consider the objection that if inequalities of power robustly cause inequalities of status, then relational egalitarians should also oppose democratic institutions, because officials such as legislators or judges will have more power than citizens. In reply, I argue that relational egalitarians are only opposed to inequalities of status that mark a failure of recognition respect, and that inequalities of status that follow from democratically licensed inequalities of power will not mark such a failure. I conclude that the skeptical challenge is unsuccessful, and that the relational egalitarian justification of democracy is sound.

On a Kantian Form of Respect

In this essay, Stephen Darwall first develops a rich set of distinctions of different forms of respect that supplement the fundamental distinction of recognition and appraisal respect. He then applies it to Kant’s dictum from The Critique of Practical Reason that “before a common humble man … my spirit bows.” Darwall is particularly interested in what Kant says about the phenomenology of respect: how it occurs, how it feels, and the like. The framework Darwall developed earlier, allows him to show how respect as a moral feeling is not only a form of appraisal but also recognition respect, and how the moral feeling of respect relates to other forms, such as “social respect” and “honor respect.”

Value Conservatism and its Challenge to Consequentialism

G. A. Cohen's value conservatism entails that we ought to preserve some existing sources of value in lieu of more valuable replacements, thereby repudiating maximizing consequentialism. Cohen motivates value conservatism through illustrative cases. The consequentialist, however, can explain many Cohen-style cases by taking extrinsic properties, such as historical significance, to be sources of final value. Nevertheless, it may be intuitive that there's stronger reason to preserve than to promote certain sources of value, especially historically significant things. This motivates an argument that the weights of our reasons to preserve such things are especially strong relative to the amounts of value they bear. The value conservative can then explain these intuitions in non-consequentialist terms. There may be reason to preserve historically significant things as a matter of recognition respect for a cultural and historical heritage, or because it is virtuous to cultivate the right kind of connection with such a heritage.

Yakub Kolas and Kazakh literature

The article examines the connections between the classic of Belarusian literature Yakub Kolas and some Kazakh writers. These connections are traced with the help of the collection materials of the State Literary and Memorial Museum of Yakub Kolas, and the creative activity and life paths of Belarusian and Kazakh writers are also analyzed. The acquaintance of Yakub Kolas with the classics of Kazakh literature Sabit Mukanov and Mukhtar Auezov is described in detail, and their creative paths and significance for their peoples are compared. Attention is especially focused on the similarity of social and political activities and literary creativity (military poems, autobiographical novels) by Sabit Mukanov and Yakub Kolas. Possible ways of developing cooperation between museums established in honor of Kazakh writers and the literary museum of the classic of Belarusian literature are noted.The connection with Kazakhstan of the national poet of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War is also not overlooked, as are the translations of the works of Yakub Kolas into the Kazakh language. The material also contains an attempt to analyze the degree of popularity of the Belarusian classic Yakub Kolas among the Kazakh creative intelligentsia. It can be assumed that the congratulatory address and personal gifts from Kazakh writers are evidence of the recognition, respect and certain fame of Yakub Kolas in the spaces of the Kazakh steppe.

La cláusula de apertura constitucional y su evolución en México

RESUMEN: Este estudio describe la trayectoria histórica de la cláusula de apertura constitucional que poco a poco se ha consolidado con la evolución del constitucionalismo. Se observa que la cláusula de apertura constitucional, en sus varias modalidades, conduce a alcanzar una proyección internacional de los derechos fundamentales, con la finalidad de reforzar desde la propia Constitución su reconocimiento, respeto, protección y garantía en los países que desean instituir su democracia con un Estado Social de Derecho. Como consecuencia, nos invita a reflexionar en qué punto del camino se encuentra la evolución de los derechos fundamentales.ABSTRACT: This study describes the historical trajectory of the constitutional opening clause that has gradually consolidated with the evolution of constitutionalism. It can be seen that the Constitutional opening clause, in its various forms, leads to an international projection of fundamental rights in order to reinforce from the Constitution itself their recognition, respect, protection an assurance in countries that wish to establish their democracy with a Social State of Law. As a consequence, it invites us to reflect on where the evolution of fundamental rights finds itself.Keywords: Constitution, fundamental rights, constitutional opening clause.