I'm not from the UK and have no idea what your guys' situation is like, and I am very ambivalent towards "multiculturalism" (not sure what it is exactly, anyway).
One thing that bothers me about Cameron is the justification for giving up on multiculturalism. He says it is in the name of liberalism. He wants to be more intolerant of and get rid of the groups that are opposed to liberal values. Isn't this a complete contradiction??? Liberal values tell us that we have the right to believe whatever we want (freedom of religion and conscience) and should be able to express those beliefs, whether or not they oppose the views of the government (freedom of speech, freedom of assembly). Liberalism tells us to be tolerant, yet many liberals are intolerant of anyone that disagrees with their values. I can't believe they want to start persecuting organizations that "oppose the nation," it's about the most illiberal response you can have. They are being entirely illiberal in their defense of liberalism, which they claim to be the foundation of the country.
At the same time, I do understand his assertion of Britain's values and his concerns. He believes that the nation is lacking in values. Can you have a successful nation that merely values believing what you want to? Or does a nation need to have a set of agreed upon principles that it shares? Does it need to have a common identity and history and a common set of values, or can it simply be a group of individuals that have a multitude of beliefs that aren't congruent? Britain is not like the US, Canada, or Australia, nations founded by immigrants. It comprises of a group of people that have lived there for thousands of years and have a common, ancient history and a set of national values, traditions, and customs. What then is the place of immigrants? Should there be a higher expectation for them to integrate into the society and adopt the national beliefs, customs, etc. than in a country such as Canada?
As for the Brixton example, that's great that you have an area that has taken well to multiculturalism, but what if other areas don't? Maybe they 'ought to' be more tolerant of the immigrants, and maybe the immigrants 'ought to' do a better job of integrating into the society, but what if they don't? What if it comes down to the fact that people don't act as they should and for the most part, people of different races, cultures, religions, etc. just don't get along? What if the people of the UK feel that it is failing? Do they have the right to think so and change the state's official attitude on multiculturalism?
Another quick thought: what about the former colonies of Britain. Since many of them were screwed over by the Brits, does Britain have some sort of obligation to opening up their borders to those people?
And what do you guys think about this as far as it being the trend in Europe (Merkel said the same thing, the French struggle a lot with their multiculturalism, a recent example being the expulsion of the Roma)? Do you think Europe is headed in this direction? Are they abandoning multiculturalism?
Unfortunately yes. Whilst I don't subscribe to the whole "Oh woe is us what has this once great nation become" school of thought, it is sad and as you said a tad embarrassing to think that, past the financial sector, we have such a little purpose worldwide.
It is too bad for Britain. With the global credit glut, neoliberalism, the EU, etc. their already strong financial sector swelled to a huge size while the agricultural and manufacturing sectors declined. Problem is that anyone connected to finance right now is in dire striaghts, and the more financialized countries (places like Iceland and Ireland) are really struggling, while economies more based on manufacturing (Germany) or countries with more internalized economies less dependent upon external trade (France) are doing much better. This is why Britain is in such dire straights right now, and I think the future is bleak for you guys, economically speaking. The thing with manufacturing and agriculture is that it's a bit more stable than finance, which is characterized by huge booms and busts. Britain's manufacturing sector has grown recently, however (probably because capital is being invested in those sectors as opposed to finance, where it won't get good returns), so maybe that's a good thing, although with the crisis of global production, I don't think that's safe either. Basically the whole world is in a tough position, other than Latin America, which already went through the debt crises and reformed their economies.
Hmm, I don't quite recall him mentioning this before the election... interesting that.
So yes, Dave. We can attribute a loss of national identity to multiculturalism. Though as scapegoats go I'd have blamed it on music. How can we have a national identity when we all listen to different music? Music has failed.
Music is the pride of Britain. You guys took an American form of music, rock and roll, and totally perfected it and outdid them in the process. Pretty much all of the best musical groups were British. So one of your national prides is in decline. Something must be done to revive it!
