A successful idea

One of the most successful political ideas in history is multiculturalism. Multiculturalism allows people from different cultures to coexist peacefully under one government. It is an old concept, even though the modern version is about respect for other cultures rather than peaceful coexistence. Under the influence of identity politics, multiculturalism can become a recipe for division rather than unity. Nevertheless, many successful empires of the past were multicultural states.

Cultures usually do not change in a short timeframe. Leaders of states that had conquered other states allowed subjugated peoples to keep their customs and religions as long as they did not threaten the political and social order. It promoted peace and stability, which improved trade and prosperity. For instance, Cyrus the Great, a Persian emperor who ruled around 550 BC, respected the religions and traditions of the different peoples in his empire. He helped the Jews to go back to their homeland and rebuild their temple in Jerusalem.

If a multicultural empire lasted long enough, the different peoples inside it could form a common culture and become one. In this way, smaller groups were integrated into larger ones, for example, in the Roman Empire. Many later Roman emperors came from the provinces such as France, Africa or Arabia. When the empire collapsed, the conquered peoples did not reappear as independent nations.¹ The Roman Empire did not have an assimilation strategy, but cultural integration happened nonetheless.

The case of Bosnia illustrates the success and the vulnerability of multiculturalism. For over 500 years, Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Orthodox Christians lived relatively peacefully together under the umbrella of three successive multicultural states. These were the Ottoman Empire, the Austrian Empire, and Yugoslavia. But in the 1990s, identity politics suddenly turned them into Croats, Bosnian Muslims and Serbs, and they started killing each other in a civil war.

Multiculturalism was often a step towards more unity. There have been temporary reversions as empires collapsed. Still, the long-term trend is unmistakable. The world gradually became more integrated as smaller cultures merged into larger ones. Nowadays, the world is closely interconnected, and a global culture may emerge. A world government and a story that inspires everyone can speed up that process.

Why do many people think multiculturalism is a failure? First, identity politics changed the nature of multiculturalism. Rather than peaceful coexistence, it is now about respect for other cultures. Respect for one person or group is often at the expense of another person or group. It is also hard to see the success of multiculturalism when foreigners come to your country and do not integrate. Large numbers of immigrants can profoundly change the character of society, and it does not always work out well. Just ask the Native Americans in the United States.

If you look at history, multiculturalism has been a great success, and it can be of great help in the future if we focus on peaceful coexistence rather than identity politics. Multiculturalism can provide a framework that allows different cultures to coexist peacefully, so forced assimilation is unnecessary. Living together can provide sufficient integrative forces to turn existing cultures into folklore over time.

Us and them

Us and them
And after all, we’re only ordinary men
Me and you

Pink Floyd, Us and them

We divide humanity between us and them. We are the good people, and they are the evil people who act oddly, look differently, have funny accents and wear peculiar outfits. We differ in skin colour, religion, political views, sexual preferences, or other qualities. And that helps us to feel good about ourselves. Even when you think you are open-minded, you hate those evil narrow-minded others. Welcome to human nature. Xenophobia is a trait we share. We prefer the company of like-minded individuals and do not like those who are different. Those strange people can tell similar personal stories about bullying, physical violence and exclusion.

Those who do not experience regular bullying and exclusion often fail to understand life under these conditions. That is what they call lived experience. You do not know how it is to live in a ghetto if you have not lived there yourself. Lived experiences express themselves, for example, in Black Lives Matter, right-wing populism, and #Metoo. These movements highlight the effects of police violence towards blacks, the neglect of the white working class by the elites, and male conduct towards women. These movements centre around the emotions of lived experiences. More and more groups demand respect for their lived experiences and want not to be offended by unpleasant facts, like their emotion being overdone. Respect for one group usually comes at the expense of others, so lived experiences and demanding respect are not the way out. So, what about peaceful coexistence?

Discrimination is difficult to eradicate. Even when everyone is equal before the law, we have biases and treat people differently depending on the characteristics of the groups they belong to. We might ask ourselves why we have prejudices. Often, they relate to group characteristics, for instance, culture. Many blacks in the United States are poor, not only because of racism and discrimination but also because of their attitudes. Jews do better than whites in the United States. Racism and discrimination are morally reprehensible and disadvantageous to people but not as crucial for your success as attitude and values.

If your culture is dominant, you enjoy advantages you may not realise you have. There is a white privilege. Societies in Western Europe and the United States may be multicultural, but Western culture is dominant, just like Roman culture dominated in the Roman Empire. Western culture has had such a profound impact on world culture that it is the most influential culture in the world today. Even China’s leadership bases its legitimacy on European Marxism-Leninism rather than Chinese Confucianism. White privilege is being part of the dominant culture. Being part of the dominant culture prepares you better for society.

Your cultural heritage is not an achievement nor a reason for shame. You did not choose to be born with the customs and beliefs that define your life. But overcoming the limits of your background and contributing to a better future is an accomplishment. We need a social contract for the world. Lived experiences can help us evaluate how our conduct impacts others, but reason rather than emotion should determine our choices when establishing the rules of the future society. And we should aim for the best and not strive for compromises. Mediocrity should not be our goal. That process requires a strong authority that unifies the world and a powerful story that inspires everyone.

Latest revision: 12 July 2023

Featured image: One Ring to Rule Them All. Xander (2007). Public Domain.

1. A Brief History Of Humankind. Yuval Noah Harari (2014). Harvil Secker.