The transformation of contemporary American liberalism and the revision of "Minority Rights" Theories: Theoretical and practical consequences of "Liberalism Debate"

本研究首先考察了少数民族权利理论的最新发展及其批评者。据调查，金米利卡等少数民族权利理论家的著作受到了试图将女性、老年人、残疾人的身份主张纳入其中的艾丽斯•杨（Iris Young）最近的理论的影响。该研究还试图表明，最近对少数民族权利论点的反对可以分为基于权利的反对，基本权利的反对和平等的反对。最后，它还发现，最近的少数群体权利理论似乎与协商民主理论和公民理论有一些共同点，因为今天的少数群体理论家确实热衷于确保社会融合。其次，本研究还试图比较当代美国少数民族权利理论与不同时代、不同地域的少数民族理论的特点。研究发现，当代美国的争论与两次世界大战期间同样遭受少数民族文化冲突的美国和英国的争论有很大的相似之处。它还发现，当代美国的观点与战后日本的自由主义观点有相似之处，因为这两种观点都非常关注多样性和多元性。

This research first examined the recent developments of minority rights theories and their critics. It revealed that the recent writings of major minority rights theorists such as Kymlicka are heavily influenced by recent theory of Iris Young, who attempts to include identity claims of woman, elderly people and handicapped. The research also attempted to show that a workable differentiation of recent objections to minority rights argument can be classified into rights-based objections, basic rights objections, and equality objections, respectively. Finally, it also found out that the recent theories of minority rights seem to share some common grounds with the theories of deliberative democracies and theories of citizenship since minority theorists today are really keen to secure social integration.Second, this research also attempted to compare the features of contemporary American minority rights arguments with those of minority theories of different times and places. It found out that contemporary American arguments have significant affinities with those of inter-war America and Britain who also suffered from conflicts among minority cultures. It also found out that contemporary American arguments have affinities with postwar Japanese liberal arguments in the sense that both of these arguments have serious concerns with diversity and pluralities.