Multiculturalism as misdirection

Peter Thiel's thesis about hidden disruption of the US is right!

Image source The New Criterion

This month’s The New Criterion features an article titled The Diversity Myth featuring an edited version of remarks delivered at The New Criterion’s gala by Peter Thiel. It has some great insights. Special thanks to

3musesmerge

for sharing it with me.

Thiel’s Thesis

Thiel made an array of points. I am summarising them here.

1. Diversity/DEI is not real.

   1. There’s no real multiculturalism; it’s monocultural.

   2. The agenda is not non-Western; it’s anti-Western.

2. Diversity / DEI initiatives are a distraction from deeper ISSUES

   1. Diversity becomes a kind of divertissement (diversion, I had to look that up)

   2. Deeper issues obscured by our diversity obsession today

3. ISSUE 1 = Challenges of universities

   1. Humanities studies at university have become problematic

   2. Sciences also have stagnated.

   3. A big focus is on getting published. Thus, most papers published on the subject are useless.

4. ISSUE 2 = Economics

   1. Real Estate Interests

   2. Inequality in the United States has largely been driven by real-estate interests and corrupt land-use agreements—in short, mismanaged cities.

   3. DEI has entrenched the real estate interests

   4. Real estate has caused the university fee increases

5. ISSUE 3 = Religion

   1. DEI is juxtaposed against Judeo-Christian values

   2. I read this (and Thiel hasn’t said as much) as the aim of DEI is ungluing of society, religion being the glue.

6. But the MAIN ISSUE = Political power

   1. Ultimately he believes DEI and its impact on Science, Economics and Religion are a distraction for political discourse.

   2. He also points out that CCP (Chinese Communist Party) benefits the most from DEI.

Lot said; lot unsaid.

Thiel has hit upon various points. Each of these needs a separate analysis. I agree with what he is saying. But there is a LOT that is not said, but it is absolutely essential that we say it.

Let me sketch out what I WOULD say:

1. Diversity Equity, and Inclusion

   1. DEI started out as laudable objectives. But they were weaponised as laws.

   2. Not all ideas can become laws. The character of law is different from that of ideas and even goals. For one, laws are certain and difficult to change, ideas are fluid, and goals change.

   3. We can digress into “principles-based regulation”.

   4. We do not understand diversity. We can see “external” diversity (skin colour, race etc.) Some have “internal” diversity (religion, personality). Others have experiential diversity (different life experiences).

   5. Do we want diversity of thought, diversity of attitudes, or diversity of goals?

   6. Equity is a similar story.

2. University education is broken.

   1. I noted it back in 2007-08 when data showed that the administrator-professor ratio was increasing.

   2. University fee structure and potential income from contributing to society do not tally. It does not help that student loans cannot be discharged even in bankruptcy.

   3. It could be because of real estate.

   4. Universities have forgotten their dharma towards knowledge.

   5. Most of the intellectual property being created (patents etc.) are merely to grid-lock other economic actors from using knowledge.

   6. Original research does not get published. Shabby research from well-connected people does.

   7. The credit and publication system is so ridiculous that the research paper on CERN study was authored by 5000 people. People are calling it hyper-authorship.

3. Economics and politics are definitely broken!

   1. It is my pet peeve how capitalism and democracy have been subverted. I wrote that book in 2010. I have not changed my views on anything I mentioned there. If at all, I have become more convinced.

   2. Central banking is misunderstood, the concept of interest rates is misunderstood, etc. I can go on and on.

   3. The financing mechanism for politicians is also broken. Lawrence Lessig made an excellent presentation at TED explaining political issues.

4. Attack on religion

   1. Religion is the glue that binds the society. The problem is that religion also isolates non-believers (for instance, those who believe in science). That Judeo-Christian conundrum was sorted out during Renaissance and Enlightenment by separating Church and the State.

   2. Religion, while sitting squarely in the personal domain, did influence family, community and, therefore, society.

   3. DEI attacks Religion to break family, community and hence society.

   4. Make no mistake, this is not an attack on Islam, for it retaliates violently. It is an attack on the Judeo-Christian values. It is an attack on Hinduism too.

   5. The solution is neither easy nor clear.

5. Ultimate goals - a CCP attack on the West?

   1. Is the CCP attacking the US using its “war by other means” doctrine?

   2. I think so. I think they are attacking India too.

   3. CCP, having scuttled the long-standing values of the Chinese civilization, are harming themselves and the world with this tactic.

   4. The Chinese people are smart and continue to hold on to their values. However, the attack on the fringes of Chinese family relations is apparent.

Phew!

As I said, Thiel left a lot unsaid. We should explore each of these issues properly. So stay tuned.

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Secret Note:

Thank you

3musesmerge

for pointing out this article and discussions and all the encouraging comments.

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