The Cultural Defense of Nations: A Liberal Theory of Majority Rights (Oxford Constitutional Theory) by Liav Orgad

Author:Liav Orgad [Orgad, Liav]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2015-11-05T08:00:00+00:00

PART II

LEGITIMATE AND ILLEGITIMATE DEFENSE

4

Illiberal Liberalism

If there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other it is the principle of free thought—not free thought for those who agree with us but freedom for the thought that we hate. I think that we should adhere to that principle with regard to admission into … this country.

—The U.S. Supreme Court (1929)1

Cultural defense policies create a Paradox of Liberalism. Liberal democracies, in order to protect what they perceive as a liberal regime, resort to illiberal means that violate the same values they seek to protect. Herein lies the paradox. Either the liberal should tolerate illiberal practices, or turn to illiberal means in order to “liberate” the illiberal. Either choice undermines liberalism. The idea that one should adopt a liberal way of life as a prerequisite for living in a liberal society is, in itself, illiberal. This is because liberalism contains the freedom to choose not to hold liberal beliefs or live a liberal way of life as long as a person’s way of life complies with law and order.

The purpose of this chapter is threefold. The first purpose is to present two opposing approaches to naturalization. One approach—represented by current U.S. policy—does not engage in an investigation of a person’s belief in liberal values and institutions; the other approach—represented by current policy in some European states—emphasizes belief in liberal values and institutions. While both approaches have pros and cons, the chapter argues that, from a liberal perspective, the second approach has gone too far and is approaching the point of becoming illiberal. This is due to three reasons: state neutrality, liberal tolerance, and policy motivation. The second purpose is to show that joining a liberal state is frequently followed by a requirement to adopt a constitutional “story” in the sense of accepting its “truths.” The third purpose is to demonstrate several difficulties in evaluating normative aspects relating to cultural defense policies: their purpose is not clear, their effectiveness is a conundrum, and their lawfulness is yet to be clarified. Overall, the chapter illustrates risks involved in immigration and citizenship policies which, in order to protect liberal values, embrace illiberal means that violate those very same values.

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