This argument that dignity must be earned through honor — and that dignity without honor leads to cultural decay — is compelling, but also dangerously close to justifying exclusion or inequality on the basis of arbitrary cultural metrics.
Isn't there a risk in tying access to social esteem (and therefore credit, opportunity, and participation) to norms of 'earned' dignity, especially when those norms are defined by dominant groups?
How do we balance a meritocratic esteem economy with the need for universal human dignity?
Isn't there a risk in tying access to social esteem (and therefore credit, opportunity, and participation) to norms of 'earned' dignity, especially when those norms are defined by dominant groups?
How do we balance a meritocratic esteem economy with the need for universal human dignity?