Summary & commentary · Chapter 07 · PDF pp. 102–104
A pluralist and anti-racist society
Human diversity is a treasure, not a threat.
A common political order must be open to people with different convictions. Belonging cannot depend on ancestry or cultural assimilation.
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Living differently
A community may need common rules without prescribing a uniform way of life. Personal convictions remain protected. Where actions violate the equal rights of others, there must be a reviewable procedure and, where necessary, a limit. §
Institutions
A prohibition does not remove exclusion
Rejecting racism must be reflected in everyday rules. Affected people need access to independent complaints procedures, and discriminatory treatment must be open to correction. This also applies where a local majority regards itself as open and solidaristic. §
Critical examination
How should a pluralist order deal with groups that deny equal rights to others?
Beliefs remain free; actions and institutions reach their limit where they destroy the equal rights, physical safety or political participation of others.