The Good, the Bad, and Intolerable: Minority Group Rights

Ethnocultural minorities around the world are demanding various forms of recognition and protection, often in the language of “group rights.” Many commentators see this as a new and dangerous trend that threatens the fragile international consensus on the importance of individual rights. Traditional human rights doctrines are based on the idea of the inherent dignity and equality of all individuals. The emphasis on group rights, by contrast, seems to treat individuals as the mere ...