Liberal Critique of Multiculturalism

The purpose of this research is to investigate the liberal critique of the concept of multiculturalism that was developed by Canadian philosopher Will Kymlicka. This study seeks to answer the research questions, what is multiculturalism, and why this concept may contradict with liberal philosophical approaches. The key aspects of the concept of multiculturalism were reviewed: the idea of societal culture and the theory of collective rights. The liberal critique includes four key arguments. The first one was developed by John Stewart Mill and it is about the importance of national state in realization liberal principles. The second argument is about cultural neutrality of multiculturalism. The third argument is against the idea of societal culture and the last one is the critique of the concept of collective rights. The liberal critique of multiculturalism shows that the cultural diversity is not a necessary condition for the realization liberal principles.