10 Questions for Multiculturalists: Answered

This is a response to a YouTube video made by a Finnish vlogger that goes by the name of The Swan of Tuonela. In the video she poses ten questions to multiculturalists in the context of the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. The video can be viewed at here. I'm not a multiculturalist though my coming over as one is simply an effect of the way I view the world and because of that I think I still qualify to answer. To explain my world view and to address the questions I will have to build a model that combines Plato's allegory of the cave, Bill Murray's 1993 movie Groundhog Day, and PoliticalCompass.org's political chart. It will set an objective benchmark against which subjective notions can be measured against.

Let's start with the first component: Plato's allegory of the cave. The allegory forms the model's metaphysical framework: it depicts the transformation of the desire-driven egoistic mindset, i.e. the prisoner chained to the wall of the cave, into a desire-free altruistic mindset, i.e. the prisoner that has been freed from the cave.

Its key idea: humankind's egoistic desires are played out in the physical world but, Plato says, that world is an illusion. The real world, he says, takes place between your ears. As a consequence, change cannot be brought about through the manipulation of things in the physical world; it can only be achieved through the mind. The prisoner that has been freed from the cave knows this to be true.

The second component, the Bill Murray movie, breaks down the metaphysical transformation into four desires the chained prisoner must see out before a breakout from the cave's confines is made possible. The desires are, from base to apex: survival, wealth, power, and knowledge.

Its key idea: Every person has to go through a progression of desires before a desire-free altruistic state of mind can be achieved.

The third and final component, the PoliticalCompass.org's political chart, links the metaphysical to the physical. It shows how the desires play out in the physical world with the desire for survival—the chart's social dimension—being represented by the Authoritarianism-Libertarianism y-axis and the desire for wealth—the chart's economic dimension—being represented by the Left-Right x-axis. The desire for power—politics—manipulates the axes not unlike a puppeteer operating a marionette using a control bar.

Its key idea: the people at PoliticalCompass.org brilliantly and astutely reduced the political system to a two-dimensional chart to give account for the social and economic dimensions of politics. It coincides with the progression of desires depicted in Groundhog Day though without acknowledging the desire for knowledge.

Plato making mention of the imperative for philosophers to become kings implies that an additional z-axis representing the desire for power needs to be added to the chart. This allows for the desire for knowledge—philosophy—instead of the desire for power—politics—to operate the control bar, i.e. rule by philosopher-kings instead of by politicians. Now let's assemble the model.

First I need to modify the cave's floor plan. Instead of having a single expanse I am going to put in a triangular (read: a two-dimensional pyramidical) structure to partition the space into four tiers with the widest section—the base—resting against the cave's wall and the narrowest section—the apex—pointing away from it. Each tier, from base to apex, represents a desire, i.e. survival (at the base), wealth, power, and then knowledge (at the apex). The triangle's tapering shape symbolizes the desires' hierarchical nature as the higher desires form an arch over the lower ones.

With the Bill Murray movie incorporated next I am going to incorporate the political chart but with the extra z-axis, and finish the model. The original two-dimensional chart allows for the expression of only the first three desires as it leaves the operation of the control bar to politics (the desire for power) by omitting philosophy (the desire for knowledge). In the cave, this would've had given us a three- instead of a four-tiered triangle but by having the latter in place humankind's desire for knowledge can now be accounted for.

In the original chart, both the axes represent scales extending between two extremes; Left-Right for the x-scale and Authoritarianism-Libertarianism for the y-axis. They point to dualism. What Left and Libertarianism have in common is they are both inclusive just as Right and Authoritarianism are exclusive. Thus the dualism pertains to inclusiveness and exclusiveness. I am going to apply the same idea to the z-axis (politics) and to the control bar, the desire for knowledge aka philosophy.

To incorporate the chart into the model I will only have to make the triangle dualistic in nature and to do so, while also taking into account the triangle's hierarchical nature, I will only have to concern myself with the apex because whatever goes down there will trickle down in an information cascade to the tiers below. So the top tier (philosophy) can be either inclusive ('I') or exclusive ('E') even as it assigns either an 'I' or an 'E' value to each of the other three tiers below it. To allow for all the possible permutations to play out, the apex needs to be given four 'I' and four 'E' values which it can then assign to itself and to the other three remaining tiers. Sixteen permutations are made possible this way:

(Philosophy, Politics, Economic Dimension, Social Dimension) OR (Control Bar, Z-Axis, X-Axis, Y-Axis)

 1. I,I,I,I 5. I,E,I,I 9. E,I,I,I 13. E,E,I,I 2. I,I,I,E 6. I,E,I,E 10. E,I,I,E 14. E,E,I,E 3. I,I,E,I 7. I,E,E,I 11. E,I,E,I 15. E,E,E,I 4. I,I,E,E 8. I,E,E,E 12. E,I,E,E 16. E,E,E,E

Every person has a triangle in Plato's cave as does every group, people, or nation. A triangle's size is determined by the extent of influence the philosophy nested in its apex exercises in the physical world. Smaller triangles are superimposed over larger ones. The world's borders are not delineated by country but by philosophy and they may shift from time to time in a game of triangles.

As a philosophy cascades down a triangle, it manifests in ever more crude forms of expression. At its most crude it manifests as a physical structure. Back in the day people used to build cathedrals, today it's shopping malls: the larger the triangle the more ubiquitous its cathedrals of desires become.

Note that the cave's interior is a desire-driven and therefore an egoism-proper and therefore an exclusiveness-proper environment while its exterior is a desire-free and therefore an altruism-proper and therefore an inclusiveness-proper environment. As a result, inside the cave the 'E' value is a true value while the 'I' is a false value. By the same token, outside the cave the 'I' is the true value while the 'E' is a false one.

Thus expression of the 'I' value inside the cave is but a simulated one, an instance of such principles as the Golden Rule in action. The default expression is that of the 'E' value. But human beings have an intuitive yearning to evolve and to express the true 'I' value, i.e. to step outside of the darkness of the cave and into the bright light of the open expanse. Thus our obsession with religion and spirituality and our interpreting of them in an exoteric light, i.e. as an expression of the false 'I' value. Outside the cave the interpretation becomes esoteric in nature, meaning that of the true 'I' value.

According to Plato, the most important purpose in life should be to look past the veil of illusion and to perceive the true reality, something that can apply to individuals (i.e. on a micro scale) and to communities or nations or indeed the whole world (i.e. on a macro scale) alike. However, it is an effort that is as difficult as it is important as it requires a person to have quenched all the egoistic desires save the one for knowledge. The desire for knowledge will then fuel that person's search for answers to the Big Questions, which most certainly will constantly involve putting cherished beliefs through the wringer. And even then true reality will not dawn unless the notion of past and future is quieted and the now is perceived. It is, however, possible to help the process along by advancing inclusive philosophies, politics, economic policies, and social policies (I,I,I,I). Such endeavor should be in fact the most important thing a nation state could do to justify its existence.

On to the questions:

1. What is the acceptable price tag for your multicultural dream? How many crime and terrorism victims would it take for you to say the price is too high?

It's not a dream but rather a Platonic illusion. What you call multiculturalism cannot be made to work through the manipulation of the physical world because doing so would only highlight existing superficial differences. Your referring to it as multiculturalism attests to this: it implies the bringing together of different cultures. Inside the cave, differences are perceived as a threat to the quenching of egoistic desires. Clashes will ensue. To make multiculturalism work you will have to transform differentness into sameness.

Metaphysically speaking, culture can be thought of as an aggregate of expressions under the progression of desires, i.e. the ways in which people act out their carnal and spiritual needs and everything in between. Inside the cave, every person has desires and must act these out either inclusively or exclusively. That's a trait shared by everyone. A culture is a combined expression of a group of people acting out their desires. But these desires must be acted out in a fashion that allows you to move forward under the progression of desires.

The acceptable price tag would be if multiculturalism allows all groups to move forward under the progression of desires. The price would be too high if even only one group stagnates, not to mention regresses, under the progression of desires.

Having said that, it is your job as an individual to assure that you keep moving forward (you make your own luck, as the saying goes). The only way I know you can achieve that is by cultivating an understanding of yourself as a human being. You understand yourself, you understand everyone, and differentness is transformed. The job of the nation state is to see to it that its nation moves forward under the progression of desires. It can do so with the tools that it has at its disposal, e.g. the education system.

2. Why is it only us who need multiculturalism? Shouldn't strict monocultures such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, or Afghanistan need it much more?

The question is an expression of grievance as you perceive that your need to quench your egoistic desires has been compromised. But by hitting out at the world you're tilting at windmills. Nobody needs multiculturalism. Not in the cave anyway. You may don't want those migrants in your country but how sure are you that they want to be there in the first place? The way I see it, exclusive policies have resulted in those migrants regressing to the desire for survival. And to make matters worse, host communities have come to perceive these people as a threat to their own desire for survival. If the nation state does not take due action fast, i.e. by tending to the desire for survival of both sides, things can get ugly. Think fascism.

What the nation state can do at this instance, however, is to make changes in the physical world only, which don't count as real changes. Real change, as I have mentioned, can only be brought about in the mind and that is up to each person individually. You make your own luck.

3. Did you end up with your ideology by evaluating arguments and evidence, or do you find yourself believing in multiculturalism in spite of them?

I ended up with my world view by evaluating personal life experiences which I then applied to more general contexts.

4. Do you believe that any culture or religion no matter how anti-liberal or anti-democratic is suiting material for peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society?

Peaceful coexistence in a multicultural society can only take place if each of the components making up the melting pot—no matter how exclusive some may be—are allowed to progress along the progression of desires. The main responsibility to progress, however, lies with you. Think of what Plato said about the most important purpose in life.

5. If all cultures are equally good why is it only our culture that needs changing?

Cultures that allow for progress along the progression of desires inside the cave are all equally good. Cultures that allow you to escape the confines of the cave are, however, better. If your culture must change, change for the better although, and at this point you may start to see a pattern developing, it's much more conceivable for you yourself to change and in so doing to become the change.

6. Why does racism stop being a huge problem when Iraqis commit racist hate crimes at 24 times the rate local white people do and Somalis at 36 times the rate?

It doesn't and you know it.

7. How does importing intolerant bigoted people help to create a more tolerant modern society?

tolerate

· v.

1 allow the existence or occurrence of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without interference.

2 endure (someone or something unpleasant) with forbearance.

Concise Oxford Dictionary—Tenth Edition

Next question, please.

8. Is striving for multiculture worth making our countries much more dangerous and scary places for women?

Even more dangerous and scary than women? I'm sorry, I'm only half kidding.

9. What are the great benefits of multiculture that outweigh all the harm on safety, economics, and social cohesion?

Changes for the better in the corridors of power and in the hallways of excellence.

10. Why do you believe an ideology that has never worked anyway could work in your country now?

I'm positive it's capitalism you're talking about.

Laurens Sipahelut

Tangerang, 25 September 2016