Those who proposed a new `right to communicate' during the 1970s faced the challenge of defining a human right both universal and multiculturally sensitive. While progress was made, the challenge remains today. For the new right has not been enshrined in any major rights accords. Furthermore, cultural relativism is influential today, and the conflict between cultural relativism and ethical universalism is widely recognized. Jurgen Habermas's discourse ethics addresses this conflict. First, the evolution of the right to communicate is reviewed. Next follows a brief review of debates regarding universalism. Then, Habermas's discourse ethics is introduced within the framework of his theory of communicative action. Finally, parallels between discourse ethics and the right to communicate are drawn, and elements of the theory of communicative action are indicated that are pertinent to concerns about communication access and participation.
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