4 ms·

Please make the connection between xenophobia and democracy EDIT: I agree that it looks like things could get very bad. Let's hope for best possible outcomes.

Teever 4y ago
In some people their xenophobic feelings are innately so strong, or can be stoked to become so strong that those people will go to great lengths to keep outsiders outside, even destroying their own democracy in the process.
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MattGaiser 4y ago
Xenophobia can exist anywhere. But it is a notable turn for modern democracies which seemed to have gotten past that.
wh313 4y ago
From the paper "Right-wing extremism/radicalism: reconstructing the concept" [1]: > Although nationalism, racism and xenophobia are all discrete concepts, policies of exclusionary nationalism and cultural homogeneity often go hand-in-hand with racism and/or xenophobia. Homogeneity is usually advocated on the grounds that there are irreconcilable natural differences between groups of people and that these groups should not mix – i.e. according to a racist doctrine. > It is the values inherent in liberal and pluralist democracy and the procedures and institutions that sustain these values that particularly stick in the craw of right-wing extremists/radicals. Indeed, Carter defines right-wing extremism by reference to two elements: ‘a rejection of the fundamental values, procedures and institutions of the democratic constitutional state’, and ‘a rejection of the principle of fundamental human equality’. [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569317.2018.1451227 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569317.2018.1...
- rayiner 4y ago
  You’re creating a false dichotomy between multiculturalism and right-wing extremism. Most people in the world believe in “exclusionary nationalism and cultural homogeneity” insofar as they believe that their ethnocultural group should have a country of their own to govern according to their culture and values. My home country of Bangladesh was created on this principle. Most people in Asia and the Middle East take it as a given. That’s what the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights calls “the right of self determination.” That doesn’t make them right wing extremists! Bangladeshis (and Japanese and Chinese) don’t believe that they’re superior to everyone else and that entitles them to rule over others. That’s what crosses into right wing extremism.
  - wumpus 4y ago
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    - rayiner 4y ago
      Viewing society the way most people in the world view it makes me “right wing?” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that. I’ve heard Americans on the left say that the Japanese are “bigots” for not wanting immigrants. I don’t think they understand how radical that is. Maybe Bangladeshis (and Japanese and Chinese and Arabs and most everyone else) are “right wing.” Or maybe some folks mostly in a few western countries have adopted a radical preoccupation with minorities, to the point that they deny the right of majorities to structure their society as they see fit according to their culture and values.
      - wumpus 4y ago
  - wh313 4y ago
    I was answering a question asking for a link between xenophobia and democracy. This article establishes the link through an analysis of right-wing supremacy in the United States. Could you explain how your reply applies that that context? However, you do touch on an interesting point regarding the link between Nationalism and democracy. This review paper [1] might be of interest to you. The underpinning question seems to be the moral implications of this relationship in regards to climate change, and I'd love to hear you thoughts on it. [1] https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/cis-dam/CIS_DAM_2015/WorkingPapers/Living_Reviews_Democracy/Helbling.pdf https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/c...

Teever 4y ago

In some people their xenophobic feelings are innately so strong, or can be stoked to become so strong that those people will go to great lengths to keep outsiders outside, even destroying their own democracy in the process.

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MattGaiser 4y ago

Xenophobia can exist anywhere. But it is a notable turn for modern democracies which seemed to have gotten past that.

wh313 4y ago

From the paper "Right-wing extremism/radicalism: reconstructing the concept" [1]: > Although nationalism, racism and xenophobia are all discrete concepts, policies of exclusionary nationalism and cultural homogeneity often go hand-in-hand with racism and/or xenophobia. Homogeneity is usually advocated on the grounds that there are irreconcilable natural differences between groups of people and that these groups should not mix – i.e. according to a racist doctrine. > It is the values inherent in liberal and pluralist democracy and the procedures and institutions that sustain these values that particularly stick in the craw of right-wing extremists/radicals. Indeed, Carter defines right-wing extremism by reference to two elements: ‘a rejection of the fundamental values, procedures and institutions of the democratic constitutional state’, and ‘a rejection of the principle of fundamental human equality’. [1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569317.2018.1451227 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13569317.2018.1...

rayiner 4y ago
You’re creating a false dichotomy between multiculturalism and right-wing extremism. Most people in the world believe in “exclusionary nationalism and cultural homogeneity” insofar as they believe that their ethnocultural group should have a country of their own to govern according to their culture and values. My home country of Bangladesh was created on this principle. Most people in Asia and the Middle East take it as a given. That’s what the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights calls “the right of self determination.” That doesn’t make them right wing extremists! Bangladeshis (and Japanese and Chinese) don’t believe that they’re superior to everyone else and that entitles them to rule over others. That’s what crosses into right wing extremism.
- wumpus 4y ago
  [flagged]
  - rayiner 4y ago
    Viewing society the way most people in the world view it makes me “right wing?” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that. I’ve heard Americans on the left say that the Japanese are “bigots” for not wanting immigrants. I don’t think they understand how radical that is. Maybe Bangladeshis (and Japanese and Chinese and Arabs and most everyone else) are “right wing.” Or maybe some folks mostly in a few western countries have adopted a radical preoccupation with minorities, to the point that they deny the right of majorities to structure their society as they see fit according to their culture and values.
    - wumpus 4y ago
- wh313 4y ago
  I was answering a question asking for a link between xenophobia and democracy. This article establishes the link through an analysis of right-wing supremacy in the United States. Could you explain how your reply applies that that context? However, you do touch on an interesting point regarding the link between Nationalism and democracy. This review paper [1] might be of interest to you. The underpinning question seems to be the moral implications of this relationship in regards to climate change, and I'd love to hear you thoughts on it. [1] https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/cis-dam/CIS_DAM_2015/WorkingPapers/Living_Reviews_Democracy/Helbling.pdf https://ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/special-interest/gess/cis/c...