August 3, 2006

Multiculturalism Shrugs

I'm an optimist, but this still surprised me: The king mac-daddy pragmatist of world politics, Tony Blair, officially pronounced the death of multiculturalism as a guiding geopolitical principle. Mark the date, kids: August 1, 2006.

"9/11 in the US, 7/7 in the UK, 11/3 in Madrid, the countless terrorist attacks in countries as disparate as Indonesia or Algeria, what is now happening in Afghanistan and in Indonesia, the continuing conflict in Lebanon and Palestine, it is all part of the same thing. What are the values that govern the future of the world? Are they those of tolerance, freedom, respect for difference and diversity or those of reaction, division and hatred? My point is that this war can't be won in a conventional way. It can only be won by showing that our values are stronger, better and more just, more fair than the alternative." (emphasis mine)

In a paragraph where a European head-of-state admits that Israel's life and death battles with Islamists in Lebanon and "Palestine" (and the implicit inclusion of the Iraq war later in the speech) are "all part of the same thing" as 9/11, what can overshadow such a monumental confession? One word: Better.

The hallmark of multiculturalism is an absolute prohibition on such value judgements. "No culture's ideas are 'better' or 'worse' than any other's, they are merely different. Each is best for the culture that holds it," the multiculturalists say. But here we see Prime Minister Blair not only publicly admit his heretofore unacknowledged belief that western values and ideas are better than the Islamist's (without even the excuse of intoxication) but declare that propagation of this value judgement is the "only" way that this war can be won! Congratulations Mr. Blair. The first step to the cure is to admit that you have a disease.

The rest of the speech goes downhill from here, but believe me... this is a watershed moment in postmodern western civilization.

UPDATE-04AUG2006:

In the wake of PM Blair's concise and reasoned analysis of the war between western modernity and Islamic extremism, the British press shows its mettle in cutting him back down to size. (As explained in this David Aaronovitch editorial, 'If you're so clever, then why is it that they all hate you?')

What was clear was that no one in the room was prepared to be sidetracked by anything as arcane as the PM’s account of his contacts with Bush and Siniora. Nor were they interested in Mr Blair’s condemnation of the latest comments from the President of Iran about the need to eliminate Israel. They were far more concerned to remind him how everyone hated him.

[...]

The question that summed the morning up went something like this: “If your opinions are so moderate and sensible, how come everyone thinks they’re crap, whatever they are?”

Current Events Philosophy Posted by JohnGalt at August 3, 2006 1:35 AM

My Favorite Socialist! PM Blair can be very eloquent on the war and it's hard to imagine getting this far without his brave leadership -- a true Profile In Courage, considering the chattering classes over there that he needs to mollify.

In spite of this admiration, I read your excerpt as going a little too far. He compares liberal values favourably [sic] to terrorist values but I don't think you'd get him to stand tall for the supremacy of "Western" values.

Not sure we're there yet.

Posted by: jk at August 3, 2006 1:16 PM

Your judgement that my analysis of this excerpt overreaches is fair, but only in that Blair's model of "Western values" is distinctly different from yours and mine. As I said, "The rest of the speech goes downhill from here." Muslims of the world will not be convinced of the superiority of western civilization by American adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.

But the sole object of my sweeping pronunciation was a postmodern principle that has confounded mankind for at least sixty years. I maintain it is no exaggeration to say that Blair's judgement of "tolerance, freedom, respect for difference and diversity" as "better," BETTER, than "reaction, division and hatred" - this unambiguous value judgement - constitutes a mortal wound to the status quo in geopolitics. Not because of which values he listed as superior to what others, but for the very fact that some values ARE better than others.

The 'status quo ante' was multiculturalism, as evidenced by such insanity as the President of Iran being granted a visa to enter the US and address the General Assembly of the UN. (The president of a nation with whom America terminated relations when they invaded our embassy and took our nationals hostage for over a year - a man who was personally involved in that invasion of sovereign American soil - is given a free pass to stroll the streets of a nation that, in a sane world, would throw the bastard in jail and keep him there for 66 consecutive sentences for kidnapping.)

Now that Blair has allowed the word "better" back into the international lexicon it will be more difficult for the likes of Kofi Annan and Jacques Chirac to defend the indefensible.

Posted by: johngalt at August 4, 2006 1:43 AM | What do you think? [2]