TY - JOUR

T1 - Pluralism and liberalism

T2 - reading the Indian Constitution as a philosophical document for Constitutional Patriotism

AU - Ram-Prasad, Chakravarthi

PY - 2013

Y1 - 2013

N2 - Liberalism and pluralism are seen as being in tension in liberal Western nation-states, while multiculturalism, as a policy of resource-allocation to minority groups, has been the standard response to pluralisation. This limits the pluralist potential of a constitutional liberalism. The fusion of a liberal theory of autonomous individuality with a pluralist theory of multiple belonging has to look beyond multicultural policy in order to enhance liberal commitments to citizens through pluralist provisions. An analysis of the Indian Constitution’s Fundamental Rights, as a normative document, shows that the citizen can be understood as an autonomous individual given identity through belonging to a plurality of groups. Consequently, rights are taken to accrue to all citizens equally as autonomous individuals, but also by virtue of their belonging to groups, with special provisions made available for vulnerable ones. Rights for a plurality of vulnerable groups should not be seen as illiberal additions but integral to the conception of liberalism. If such a view of citizenship were to be integrated into the liberal constitutions of irreversibly pluralizing Western democracies, then a pluralistic constitutional patriotism could be fostered amongst members of vulnerable groups, while demonstrating that standard liberal rights guarantee equal citizenship for all.

AB - Liberalism and pluralism are seen as being in tension in liberal Western nation-states, while multiculturalism, as a policy of resource-allocation to minority groups, has been the standard response to pluralisation. This limits the pluralist potential of a constitutional liberalism. The fusion of a liberal theory of autonomous individuality with a pluralist theory of multiple belonging has to look beyond multicultural policy in order to enhance liberal commitments to citizens through pluralist provisions. An analysis of the Indian Constitution’s Fundamental Rights, as a normative document, shows that the citizen can be understood as an autonomous individual given identity through belonging to a plurality of groups. Consequently, rights are taken to accrue to all citizens equally as autonomous individuals, but also by virtue of their belonging to groups, with special provisions made available for vulnerable ones. Rights for a plurality of vulnerable groups should not be seen as illiberal additions but integral to the conception of liberalism. If such a view of citizenship were to be integrated into the liberal constitutions of irreversibly pluralizing Western democracies, then a pluralistic constitutional patriotism could be fostered amongst members of vulnerable groups, while demonstrating that standard liberal rights guarantee equal citizenship for all.

KW - liberalism

KW - pluralism

KW - Indian Constitution

KW - constitutional patriotism

KW - fundamental rights

U2 - 10.1080/13698230.2012.691765

DO - 10.1080/13698230.2012.691765

M3 - Journal article

VL - 16

SP - 676

EP - 697

JO - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy

JF - Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy

SN - 1369-8230

IS - 5

ER -