Globalization has challenged cultural identities. This also explains Trump and Brexit. America wants to remain an Anglo-Saxon country, not a bilingual country with equal space for the Spanish-speaking population from south of the border. The British want to see an Anglo-Saxon country, not one with Polish and Muslim immigrants. One of the most shocking columns I have read in my life was a column by a lifelong liberal, Martin Wolf of the Financial Times, arguing against multiculturalism. Even he wanted to turn the clock backwards.
But you cannot turn the clock backwards. With the end of the era of Western domination, we are moving from a mono-civilizational world dominated by the West to a multi-civilizational world. This is so obvious. Yet, I cannot find a single Western politician who is prepared to state the obvious. This is why Western populations are confused. They have not understood that in this new era of world history, they have to accept multiculturalism, even at home.
To be fair, it is not just Western societies that are facing this challenge. Singapore had a Brexit moment in 2011. One reason why George Yeo, Singapore’s foreign minister at the time, lost his parliamentary seat in the 2011 elections is because there was a backlash against immigrants in Singapore. In an effort to fuel economic growth, the government brought in too many migrants too quickly. It learned its lesson fast. The taps were carefully tightened after 2011. In short, each society will have to find the natural balance between reducing migrants to protect cultural identity and increasing migrants to promote economic growth. Good political management can solve this.
No comments:
Post a Comment