Following Sunny’s latest post at LC, I have just read Mark Steyn’s 6,000+ word essay on his views on the Islamification of Europe.
I’ve read a great deal of Steyn in the past. He used to be a regular in both the Telegraph and the Spectator, not to mention his contributions to Canadian, Australian, and US publications, so I know his style, and more importantly, his agenda - think Mad Mel on steroids.
It’s a remarkable piece of polemic writing. He repeatedly inserts touchstone conservative issues - socialised medicine, abortion, welfare, militarism - into the piece, even when you would think they contradict his position (i.e. his overriding theme is that Westerners aren’t producing enough children, yet he attacks state childcare provision).
Steyn, like many rightwing polemicists, doesn’t let reality get in the way, and often employs incredibly weak “facts” to support his argument. Early in the piece, he attacks Europe as a “post-Christian civilization” (i.e. we have moved on from Christ), yet compares British church attendance against that of Mosques to make a demographical point.
Of course Steyn, while being a bit of a calculating shit, is actually dealing with important concerns, and is right when he states that demographical factors should be higher up the liberal agenda. We *are* ignoring the fact that our populations are shrinking. We are obsessed with touchstone social issues, when in fact we should be doing everything we can to increase birth rates.
I think Steyn is also right to say that excessive state welfare leads to a politically-impotent population, who are tied to social-democratic politics because they refuse to give up its benefits. The Result? Perpetual government where the necessary liberal radicalism is absent. This allows the right to seize the initiative and provide radical rightwing measures to any occurring societal concerns - see major changes in the ethnic and religious balance, and a resulting indigenous backlash.
Liberals must face up to the West’s dwindling populations. If we want to ensure we maintain the generous benefits and standards of living, we have to stabilise our demographics.
Also the rise of Islamism *is* a concern. Likewise a rise in a rigid form of Christianity should be a concern. We’re Liberals. We have very little in common with religious dogma, in particular the misogynistic and intolerant form of Islam which is rising in popularity. By choosing not to engage with Islam on multicultural grounds, and allowing our elites to kowtow to religious leaders at every opportunity, we ignore the impact of Islam’s illiberal mandate on our liberal society.
Let’s not vacate the forum because we’re frightened of offending an ethnic minority. If we do, society will see that liberals have no narrative on this issue. And we’ll then leave the floor to rightwing fruit-bats like Mr. Steyn and their solutions.
Sphere: Related Content
