Owen, My understanding of European 'Multiculturalism' - gained through many discussions with European colleagues - is that it has all of the vices of the old US 'separate but equal', with none of the virtues. That is, there is no real caveat for 'equal' and no real caveat for 'separate'. The MC experiment was an honest, well-meaning attempt to allow 'come as you are, be as you came.' It was an attempt not to impose anything that might resemble colonialism... because the Europeans were too sensitive to hints of colonialism or suggestions of European-superiority, not because the immigrants were. Thus, for example, to suggest that immigrants to Germany might want to learn German, or even that their children might be required to attend a school where German was taught, or even that German tutor might be assigned to whatever school they happened to be in... well, that is an assault on their cultural values! (Again, so said the well meaning Germans.) What has resulted is like the old phenomenon of enclosed china-towns in the US, except without the likelihood that their kids will speak English and integration will occur across generations... Oh, and their are more group-X-towns in many parts of Germany than there are Germans. They don't integrate with the Germans or with each other, and yet they keep conflicting, because nothing is keeping them separate, and certainly no one wants them to be equal.
At any rate, when people say things like "The experiment in Multiculturalism has failed", they don't mean that everyone has to become German, they only mean that we should start doing things to integrate society. Even admitting that you might force German-as-a-second-language classes to be available in schools is an abandonment of the ultra-multicultural attitude. Hence, my impression is that many of the citizens of these European countries knew what they were doing at the start, but were very utopian in their imagining of how it would go. Now they have so empowered the immigrants, they have no idea how to change course. I have no clue on the Euro-zone economics / politics thing. Eric On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 12:38 PM, Owen Densmore <o...@backspaces.net> wrote: > > >I really appreciate our mail list that started 10 yrs or so ago has become so world-wide. So I'd like to ask two questions which the US press ignores or misunderstands, and to which my only other regular source, the Economist, may have a bias. >> > > > >>They are: >>- Multiculturalism (MC). >>- Euro monitory union without political union. >> > >>As I understand it, MC is based on "separate but equal", a horrid phrase used here during the segregation era, but within europe may simply be a welcoming phrase meaning "come, and you do not have to change abruptly to local cultural values". The US has eschewed MC for "integration", which has its own problems and forces a generation-long battle with local bigotry. But as difficult as integration is, it seems to ultimately be successful and avoids the horrid anomaly I read of: A muslim husband was pardoned by a judge for beating his wife because MC allows breadth of law to include muslim practice. All of which I suspect was completely misunderstood from start to finish! >> > >>The euro strikes closer to home, and as I mentioned earlier, I fear is the real financial problem we face. But I feel doomed by the euro debt problem simply because it's half an economy! I don't understand how an economic union can exist, at the scale of the EU, without political unity as well. I know of large trade pacts that work to some degree, but they can always dissolve, and have power over their fiscal policy. >> > >>So the questions are how can either MC or a non-political euro work? But broader, I'd like any (sane, reasoned, non-violent, non slashdot, non snarky [sorry Doug]) insight you may have. >> > > > >> -- Owen ============================================================ >FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv >Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College >lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org > Eric Charles Professional Student and Assistant Professor of Psychology Penn State University Altoona, PA 16601
============================================================ FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Meets Fridays 9a-11:30 at cafe at St. John's College lectures, archives, unsubscribe, maps at http://www.friam.org
