Multiculturalism. It is a magic concept that many leftist ideologues and their blinded followers are obsessed over. I became interested in finding out, whether or not this concept has ever worked in the past. Turns out it has, to some extent. Both the Bronze Age and Classical Antiquity were rather multicultural. Merchants and mercenaries traveled far and beyond, brought home fascinating experiences and exotic goods. Envoys from different cultures were constantly in contact with each other, and marriages between royal families were not uncommon. Even Herodotus – who is often referred to as “The Father of History”, was in fact a tourist.
The reason why people from different civilized cultures could coexist peacefully is rather simple: The societies were polytheistic. People kept their own gods and customs, but were open and respectful towards other gods as well. The opening of Plato’s Republic is a good example:
“I went down yesterday to the Piraeus with Glaucon the son of Ariston, that I might offer up my prayers to the goddess (Bendis, the Thracian Artemis.); and also because I wanted to see in what manner they would celebrate the festival, which was a new thing. I was delighted with the procession of the inhabitants; but that of the Thracians was equally, if not more, beautiful.”
In polytheistic societies people embraced what was new to them. They respected foreign gods, foreign cultures and traditions, which is essentially the essence of polytheism. Merit, obviously, came into play as well. If a specific god had failed to do any good for its people, then he/she did not deserve as much respect as gods who had proven themselves.
Things did change with the introduction of monotheism, however. A specific tribe of Semites originating from Egypt were among the first to claim that there was only one god. At first the polytheistic civilizations tried to tolerate this one god, as its followers were few and did not pose any real threat. It did not last, though. Peace with a monotheistic society was all but impossible. It ended with the death of hundreds of thousands of people, and the destruction of their temple in August 70 CE.
The vast majority of the modern world is not polytheistic, but monotheistic. While it is true that the west is becoming more and more atheistic, the Islamic world is not. As such they will not, by definition, tolerate any other gods but their own, and any long lasting peace with people from other cultures and religions is not possible in Islam. Of course some may argue – and justly so – that not all muslims are intolerant or murderous. What the left does not grasp however, is the fact that said people are not true practitioners of their religion.
The only way a multicultural society with people from civilized cultures would work, is with the elimination of monotheism, and turning back to our ancient, polytheistic roots. This is one of the few ways our civilizations can thrive, like they used to.
Original article: http://culture-wars.com/has-multiculturalism-ever-worked/