International Compensation for Majority Cultural Loss

This work examines the case for international compensation programs for reasonably justly formed majority cultures facing threats due to the ordinary functioning of globalization. While many “majority rights” claims cannot withstand scrutiny, standard liberal-democratic arguments for minority rights couched in concerns about cultural vulnerability now apply to several majority cultures. Parity of reasoning from the minority rights literature thus provides some reasonably justly formed majorities with claims to cultural protections. Domestic laws are unlikely to adequately protect against transnational threats, and some would threaten minority rights. But majority cultural vulnerability presents an injustice that international institutions should address. A well-designed international compensation scheme could maintain recognized benefits of globalization while compensating those who lose part of their cultural identity as a result. The following motivates and provides preliminary details on how to design a scheme.