What are Cameron's 'British values'?
The discourse on British values smacks of neo-imperialism in a post-colonial world.
Last updated: 18 Jun 2014 13:31
Myriam Francois-Cerrah
Myriam Francois-Cerrah
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UK Prime Minister David Cameron's recent speech on "British values", published as an op-ed in The Daily Mail, had all the hallmarks of a colonialist eulogy. If the colonial project was about land and power, it was also a cultural project which involved exporting a presumed superior culture and imposing it on presumed inferior peoples.
We in Europe have a long history of defining ourselves in opposition to the great "other". The Greeks often contrasted themselves with the Asians who were deemed to be servile, ruled by tyrants and corrupt, whereas Greeks were virtuous and freedom loving. Viewing Islam as the great threat also dates back to the days of competing empires, in which Islam came to be the measure against which European Christians forged their identity.
[F]reedom, tolerance of others, accepting personal and social responsibility, respecting and upholding the rule of law" are values all human beings aspire to and the British have no monopoly over. In fact, a recognition of the multiplicity of routes through which humanity has arrived at these ideals, acts as a form of global solidarity, of mutual respect and ultimately, of equality. Although many societies lack these ideals in their formal structures, this shouldn't be taken as a reflection of their rejection, but of the tumultuous conditions which impede their full realisation.
Cameron's op-ed is a clear means of expressing the dominance of white, secular liberal Britons, and articulating the commensurate respect of that supremacy from those deemed subordinate, in this case, minorities and specifically Muslims from some of the most impoverished areas in the country.
The discourse concerning the "otherness" and danger posed by Muslims is reasserted through manufactured hysteria about otherwise mundane aspects of Muslim life.
From halal meat to circumcision, the construction of a mega-mosque or the amplification of abhorrent, but thankfully limited social injustices: forced marriage, honour killing, female genital mutilation - all these are portrayed as inherently Islamic issues, despite evidence of their presence across ethnic and religious groupings
Such laws actually serve a distinct purpose: They are about defining ourselves against an imagined bogeyman, rather than recognising shared ideals.
Every empire has claimed it has a mission to enlighten, bring order and democracy. Although the empire may be long gone, the mentality which views the descendants of the former colonies as subjects remains. The motivation for imposing "superior" British values on others was bound up in a doctrine of European superiority and racism. Back in the 19th century, it was a British mission to lead the backward non-European nations to civilisation. Today, it's all about leading the backward non-European subjects to civilisation, a notion of British greatness constructed off the back of its own minorities.
キャメロンがイギリスの価値について、
演説。
自由や寛容さ、個人的及び社会的責任感、法の支配の尊重などの価値観が、イギリスの価値観であり、これは、特にイギリスだけがもっている価値観ではないが、イギリスにはそれを育み繁栄させてきた伝統がある、と。こうした価値観で、経済を促進できるし、社会の絆を育成することができる、と。
ーーー私はそれほど悪くはないと思ったが、記事の論者は、キャメロンに植民地主義的な高慢さを感じているようである。
先の記事と同様で、多様なイスラム教徒が間違って、一様に、しかも、悪いように、思念され、その妄想のなかにある恐怖の”イスラム教徒”なるものに対抗して、偉大なる自分たちを規定し、自分たちの優越したイデオロギーを野蛮で劣等で、時代遅れの非欧州人に押し付けようとしているのではないか、と。
欧米人とか、欧米かぶれの人のなかに、こうした傾向のある人たちはわりにいる。
民主主義や人権なんか、歴史的に欧州で生まれて、東洋にはそうした観念や実践がなかったように信じ込んで、いまでも、野蛮で劣等で、時代遅れの日本人に欧米のすばらしいイデオロギーと実践を育んで文明をもたらしてやらなくてはいけない、と思い込んでいる、バカな欧米人および欧米人かぶれはいるものである。
しかし、現地の人々に一番嫌われるタイプである。
優れた思想、すぐれた習慣というのはどこにもなんらかの形であるにもかかわらず、それは欧州独自のものだと言い張る。
間違った思想、間違った習慣、奇抜な言動をとる人というのは、どこにもなんらかの形であるにもかかわらず、それは、例えば、Only Islam Only in Japan などと宣伝する。
同じような問題をかかえる同じように欠点をもった人間として、おなじ、われわれとして、共通の問題、課題、直面する苦悩に、平等な立場で、協力しあっていこうという、態度に欠けるのである。
