No. 3 2009Theme: The challenges of multiculturalism
Theme By Jens-Martin Eriksen and Frederik Stjernfelt Multiculturalism has changed the political fronts. It might seem like the Left defends respect for minority cultures, while the Right stands guard over the national culture. But in actuality, there is much that unites "culturalism" on the right and the left. By Pernilla Ouis What is the reason Swedish integration policy has failed? "Structural racism", say some, while others argue it is because of immigrants' own culture and religion. This kind of assigning the blame does not
foster reasonable debate.
Intolerance in the name of toleranceBy Christopher Hitchens Behind all their talk about human rights and the freedom of expression, Muslim countries are trying to criminalise the defamation of Islam. By using the UN, they are trying to spread the message that religions, not individuals, have rights. By Per Wästberg Before, the emphasis was on similarities. Nowadays, the stress is on differences in order to create greater understanding about other people's ways of life. But that leads to demands for special treatment because of a person's culture and traditions, which means that the rights of the group are placed above those of the individual. Editor's ColumnBy Johan Lundberg Last autumn, a large number of educators reacted to the current government's school policy. They argued that, first, there was no connection between more homework and tests on the one hand and greater knowledge on the other. |