Multiculturalism and Modern Liberal Values
Ruben Nagesparan Chandrakumar, BS
It appears the global society is at a fundamental crossroads. The emergence of multiculturalism and the challenging of modern liberal values have created an environment which is deeply conflicted and polarized. On one hand, there is the extreme view taken by radical multiculturalists who believe that all cultures, and the behaviors which are related to those cultures, are equal and cannot be criticized without coming from a place of racism and bigotry. On the other extreme, there are certain thinkers, who are primarily conservatives, who hold the belief that the culture and psychology of a given population is deterministic, thus giving truth to the multiculturalists’ fear of racism and discrimination. These particular traditionalists hold the view that they as a people are of greater value to God than people from other cultures and perspectives. Both of the groups, the radical multiculturalists and the racist conservatives, bring forth an incomplete picture of the true issue at hand.
The multiculturalists and the conservatives are correct in the belief that one’s culture, values, traditions, religion, and history are fundamental to the structure of society and the development of the individual- given the biological and historical circumstances which have led to survival. However, both of these groups fail to understand a simple but profound truth: there are values within different cultures which are incompatible because they are inherently opposing the existence of the other. Additionally, there are objectively better cultural aspects and behaviors, which are preferable by every metric possible to others.
Two of the best examples one can analyze in this regard is that of slavery and that of free speech. A culture which promotes and uses slavery cannot simultaneously promote human rights for all its people, regardless of race. Thus, one of these values must die and be replaced with the other. The second example of free speech is best shown in a totalitarian regime which claims equal rights for its people while only allowing certain voices to be heard, punishing all those who dissent. Again, one of these values must be replaced by the other. What is the process by which these values must be replaced?
To this end, there is a phrase which is repeated quite often that depicts an insidious perspective of the appropriate process: ‘the ends justify the means.’ This could not be more wrong; a process which rids itself of all the values it was trying to preserve with the aim of returning to those same values is corrupt. For example, a totalitarian regime which bans free speech in the name of creating a more just world is inherently flawed in its logic, since justice is dependent on the freedom of speech. The means create the ends; the process determines the future. Thus, when two warring values from different cultures collide, as they have and will continue to do so in today’s era of multiculturalism, one will eventually die off.
This is clearly evidenced by the case of those who call for Sharia Law in Western liberal-democracies. While the multiculturalist wants to welcome all cultures and religions as equal, so as to not be racist or bigoted, they ignore the reality that a set of laws which are completely antithetical to the laws of the actual country are allowed in the country freely- leading to a destruction of more ideal human values. This destruction of better and more preferable values will be replaced by more primitive and regressive laws and behaviors such as being stoned to death for adultery. These values are incompatible with modern liberal values and they need to be debated thoroughly in the domain of public thought so as to ensure the values of innate spiritual value, freedom of expression, and democracy can be maintained at the core of our quickly-evolving society.