> That's a revealing remark that sums up the problem of the rhetoric of
> equality. The rhetoric of diversity, multiculturalism, etc. is a
> variant of the rhetoric of formal equality, in that it says, in
> effect, that while we do nothing to destroy the material conditions
> that give rise to "races," "ethnicities," "cultural differences,"
> etc. & oppressions that are based upon them, we should honor the
> "equality" of "different races, ethnicities, cultures, etc."
>
> Marx & Lenin's criticisms of formal equality are thus more relevant than ever!
>
> Yoshie
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Yes, but their proposed solutions, while they may have resonated with citizens in the west at the time, are too vague [needs, contributions, undefined etc.] as they stand today unless the terms are updated and made rigorous in the context of global inequality. I've been rereading G. A. Cohen's Self Ownership.. and his frankness about the limitations of using an abundance approach strikes me as honest enough to encourage other folks to look again at what he's saying. I remember Justin saying his latest isn't that great, but clearly we have to look at liberty, equality, ecology and their relationship to ownership in a manner somewhat similar to some the finer passages in that text, abstract as it is. It does go well with "Justice and the Politics of Difference" quite nicely. Ian