Multi-ethnic societies can only maintain their existing ruling classes if they are monarchies, according to remarks made by German-American political scientist Professer Yascha Mounk in his latest book: “The Great Experiment. How diversity threatens and enriches democracy.”
Mounk, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, confirms a trend that is becoming increasingly apparent in the media, even if it was long denied. Thilo Sarrazin, the German politician and former member of the executive board of the German central bank, was one of the most prominent Germans to document the trend of demographic replacement he saw occurring over a decade ago. He was categorized as crazy and accused of hate speech for writing in his massive bestseller “Germany abolishes itself,” which documented the massive social changes Germany was undergoing due to the meteoric increase in birth rates of foreign nationals and rapidlly falling birth rates of ethnic Germans.
Twelve after the book was published, Sarrazin himself may not be accepted, but his commentary generally is, with much of the media in agreement with Sarrazin and now reporting on the disappearance of Whites. At the same time, this is often reported as a positive development, and Sarrazin has even been booted from the Social Democrats (SPD) for his accurate prediction.
Mounk himself is well-known for support for multi-ethnic societies. Although born in Germany, he has said that his Jewish background meant he was never accepted by his fellow Germans, and has pushed for “inclusive nationalism” that embraces a multi-ethnic society. He argues that this trend can only be stopped with a civil war, which means those in the West should simply come to terms with it.
Nevertheless, his latest book seems to show signs that he does not truly believe in the benefits of a diverse society after all.
Can Austria-Hungary be a role model?
The first part of his book reads almost like Sarrazin’s “The State at its Borders.” Both authors describe how multi-ethnic societies have repeatedly failed. Sarrazin, however, wants to limit further immigration due to these conclusions.
According to Mounk, multi-ethnic societies can only function as monarchies, if at all. Because there the ruling class is independent of democratic elections and a change in the electorate. He names Austria-Hungary or early Baghdad, as models, but has to admit in the footnotes that there was discrimination even in these countries and cities.
He also cities Lebanon as a promising example of power-sharing, where the warring groups (Christians, Sunnis and Shiites) form parallel societies, meaning they only look after their own interests. Yet, Lebanon does not really represent a diverse society, since it is a separate society, and on the other, Mounk has to admit that Lebanon sank into a bloody civil war from 1975 to 1990. The country also just declared bankruptcy this month.
Prejudices have a material basis
The conclusion is sobering: “I wish I could take you on a journey through all the diverse democracies that have completely solved their problems and built admirably just societies. Unfortunately, such democracies do not exist. We need to look at concrete examples of how it has gone wrong time and time again. Maybe we can learn from the failures of others to avoid these mistakes in the future.”
Mounk then gets more specific. For example, the famous contact hypothesis states that contact between hostile groups can break down prejudices. If Germans and foreigners lived in the same district and worked in the same company, that would be a huge step, perhaps not towards cultural assimilation but at the very least towards a society of tolerance and understanding.
However, Mounk fails to recognize that, according to the contact hypothesis, prejudices between groups can only be broken down if they do not correspond to the truth. But as can be shown, prejudices against immigrants have a statistical basis.
Germany’s election results seem to confirm Mounk’s hypothesis. Especially in the east, where only a few foreigners live, the AfD achieves a high proportion of votes. However, if you take a closer look at the West, you can see another phenomenon. The AfD achieves particularly good results in large cities there, especially in those parts of the city where many foreigners live.
Mounk also reveals astonishing gaps in knowledge when describing the U.S. He is surprised to find that the American murder rate is relatively high compared to other industrialized countries, but does not understand that he is dealing with the “blessings” of a diverse society. According to the FBI, blacks commit 56 percent of all murders in the U.S., yet only make up 13 percent of the population.
Migrant gangs terrorize Malmo
Although Mounk does not want to put terrorist attacks into perspective, he falls into well-known patterns. According to him, how can one protest against immigration when a Polish immigrant bravely confronted a Pakistani terrorist in London? Moreover, most Muslims in the West wholeheartedly support the democracies there. Which remains doubtful, since in Germany too, thousands of Arabs regularly wish Israel’s death at demonstrations, or the majority of German-Turks supported the authoritarian Turkish constitutional referendum.
Mounk also doesn’t want to be disturbed by the Arab street gangs that terrorize Malmo . Irish and Italian gangs have already existed in New York, but these have been crushed by vigorous police action. However, in today’s Germany, there seems to be little progress in the migrant clans that operate extensive networks in the country.
