Toleration, Social Identity, and International Justice in Rawls and Hegel

Abstract

Like Hegel, Rawls acknowledges the immense importance of recognizing and respecting the value of cultural affiliation and its role in facilitating social identity. However, Rawls misunderstands the nature of social identity and the conditions required for its realization. His adoption of toleration as a norm fundamental to international principles of justice does not satisfactorily explain why culture ought to be respected and, more importantly, why respect for culture justifies some human rights violations. Hegel agrees with Rawls’ conclusion that the international realm cannot be governed by the same principles of justice that govern relations between individuals at the domestic level, but according to Hegel, this does not mean that we ought to abandon the liberal principle of individual rights. Hegel’s political philosophy shows not only why social identity is important, but how it can be reconciled with a strong doctrine of individual rights.