Is there anyone special? This all-encompassing question cuts to the heart of the question of whether certain minority groups should be granted specific rights. The answer to this question considers the important liberal principles of equality and freedom (Kymlicka 345). In its simplest form, there could be equal rights for all, or rights that make everyone equal. To answer this question, I will show that the idea of ​​nation-building has been allowed to deviate from benevolent neglect to the instrumental aim of realizing some goals of a liberal democratic state: solidarity, trust and deliberative democracy, and that in doing so therefore, it harms another liberal democratic goal: equality of opportunity. I argue that because this deviation is permitted, group-specific rights, used to protect multiculturalism, are justified because they mitigate the harm done by nation-building. Will Kymlicka, a professor of philosophy at Queen's University, states that multiculturalism is the rejection of the notion that a “normal” citizen could exist, referring to the “heterosexual, able-bodied white male” (327). Furthermore, he defines the function of multiculturalism: that it “recognizes the identities [of previously excluded groups] and welcomes their differences.” He provides examples of previously excluded groups, such as nonwhites, indigenous people, and gays (327, 349). I will define these people as minority groups. Because multiculturalism recognizes and embraces differences while rejecting “exclusion, marginalization, silence, or assimilation,” it is clear that multiculturalism seeks to establish a regime of freedom and equality among all groups (327). The second key term, “liberal democracy,” is used specifically here, as it is the frame...... middle of paper......heb. November 6, 2011. .Hudon, R.. "Bill 101 - The Canadian Encyclopedia." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Np, nd Web. November 9, 2011. .Mill, JS. "Introductory." On Freedom. 1859. Reprint. Kitchener, Canada: Batoche Books Limited, 2001. 14. Print.Kymlicka, Will. Contemporary political philosophy: an introduction. 2nd ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001. Print.Taylor, Charles and Amy Gutmann (eds.). "The politics of recognition". Multiculturalism and the "politics of recognition": an essay. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992. 37-38. Print.Taylor, Charles. "Nationalism and modernity". Dilemmas and connections: selected essays. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011. 84. Print.