The “truth” about multiculturalism and democracy
To be fair to David Cameron, he isn’t the only world leader who’s stepped forward this month to call multiculturalism a failure. Nicolas Sarkozy of France did the same thing at a televised town hall meeting on Thursday.
“The truth,” Sarkozy said, “is that in all our democracies we have been too preoccupied with the identity of those who arrived and not enough with the identity of the country that welcomed them.”
He also placed an emphasis on France’s secular identity and warned against “aggressive religious proselytizing” during the meeting, which is a bit of a call-back to this.
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I think Chancellor Merkel really got the ball rolling with public statements on the failures of multiculturalism. Cameron almost seems like he’s jumping on a bandwagon – and much more safely so, three leaders in.
True, Merkel laid the foundation months ago, and Cameron only beat Sarkozy to it by a few days. What’s troubling is the sense that it’s becoming a growing theme in western politics.
Great post, Matt.
I’ve created a lesson using that David Cameron video for my Grade 12 Canadian and World Issues course. Should lead to some great discussions!
It certainly should, especially at a time when Canadian immigration is at a peak. Good on you!