Taylor Vs. Huntington:
Samuel Huntington’s The Third Wave: Democratization in the Late Twentieth Century and Charles Taylor’s Multiculturalism: Examining the Politics of Recognition are two very different political theory books. Overall, Huntington analyzes world politics, while Taylor focuses on domestic affairs. Both authors examine democracy in diverse societies. Huntington observes democratic trends in various nation-states, while Taylor concentrates on the challenges of multiculturalism within a democratic regime. Taylor divides democratic politics into two categories; politics of equal dignity and politics of difference. In the politics of equal dignity, all of society is equal and opportunities are “difference-blind”. The politics of equal dignity focuses on the collective goals of society, while the politics of difference focuses on goals of individual groups that may be under represented in government. Taylor tends to argue in favor of the politics of difference because “The society is...united around a strong procedural commitment to treat people with equal respect.” (Taylor 56) Individual needs are recognized and taken into account instead of focusing only on a collective society, as with the politics of equal dignity.
homogenizing demand for recognition of equal worth, on the one hand, Huntington would still argue that the politics of difference are too variable and unpredictable and that “Fuzzy norms do not yield useful analysis” (Huntington 9). Additionally, “Stability is a central dimension in the analysis of any political system” (Huntington 11). Strict regulations can be found in the politics of equal dignity because everyone is viewed as the same, but by allowing exceptions in the politics of difference, a norm can not be established. While Taylor would reply that uniform rules and regulations “almost inevitably will call for some variations in the kinds of law we deem permissible from one cultural context to another” (Taylor 61). The politics of difference is “willing to weigh the importance of certain forms of uniform treatment against the importance of cultural survival” (Taylor 61). This important distinction between the politics of equal dignity and the politics of difference is what exemplifies their clear differences. The politics of equal dignity stays rigidly compliant to procedures, while the politics of difference takes other factors into consideration before making a judgment, which helps to protect individual rights. both on a world scale and commingled in each individual society.” (Taylor 72) “your view is not as valuable, in the eyes of this polity, as that of your more numerous compatriots”” (Taylor 57).
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Approximate Word count = 1444
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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