The Majority Oppressed? On the Legitimacy of Majority Rights

There has been an increase of academic publications that argue in favour of “majority rights”, “majority precedence”, or “white identity”, claiming that the (cultural) interests of majorities in liberal-democratic countries have been ignored due to “asymmetrical multiculturalism”. This chapter critically examines this academic trend. In particular, it questions the claim that liberal-democratic and multicultural theories to date have ignored the importance of the majority (culture). It observes that liberal-democratic and multicultural theories, in fact, strongly promote and privilege the majority culture, although in ways that accommodate minorities and do not violate core individual rights. In addition, the chapter explores several empirical issues regarding the claim that the interests of majorities are under threat in liberal-democratic countries today. Among other things, it observes that pro-majority theories tend to work with specific understandings of who embodies the majority. These theories rest on the idea that immigrants and their descendants (may) “dilute” majorities, as they are (culturally) “not native”. As a result, majority rights theorists “freeze” the majority culture claimed to be worth protecting in ways that it: first, neglects ongoing processes of integration, and second, disregards possibilities for social and political change and emancipation, particularly if triggered by immigrant groups.