All Cultures are Not Equal Part 2 of 2

Here’s the problem with multiculturalism: Are values or ideals such as invention, fundamental rule of law, freedom of expression and women’s autonomy and self-determination equally held across all cultures? If all cultures are equal, how does one account for the fact that, for the last half millennium, it has been one culture—the culture of the West, and now of America—that has shaped the world? Multiculturalists and the ignorant alike explain it in terms of oppression. Western civilization, they say, became so powerful because it is so malevolent. The study of Western civilization, they insist, should focus on colonialism and slavery––the distinctive apparatuses of Western coercion. But are colonialism and slavery uniquely Western? Not at all. History tells us they are universal. As for bondage, it has existed in every culture. Did not American Indians practice slavery long before Columbus set foot in the Western Hemisphere?

What is idiosyncratically Western, in fact, is not slavery, but the elimination of such. And what distinguishes the West from all other cultures are the institutions of democracy, free enterprise, and natural and social sciences. These institutions developed because of a synthesis of classical reason and Judeo-Christian morality. And it is these institutions, I and other enlightened others contend, that comprise the source of Western strength and explain the West’s long-standing dominance in the world. The West’s greatest strength is not merely its military power, but also the unparalleled power of its ideas and institutions.

But what about America? If America is a nation of immigrants––mostly non-white immigrants––doesn’t that, by definition, make it a multicultural society? No! America is a multi-ethnic society. We don’t want it to be a multicultural society. I’m a second-generation American from Sicily. So, no––the United States and Western Europe are not made up of imperialist, colonialist, resource-exploiting, avaricious, snatching, brown-coffee skin-hating people. Our values are worth defending––not just because they are ours, but because they are worthy and good.