posted on Monday, October 17, 2005 1:24 PM
by
Endie
The Bankruptcy of Cultural Relativism
I am not much given to quoting militant feminist left-wing secularists, but when they talk convincingly about equality in terms of freedoms and rights, I am prepared to be impressed. The excellent Nick Cohen's new blog provided me with just such an opportunity for delight..
Maryam Namazie, militant feminist left-wing secularist Iranian exile, writing after Canadian politicians decided that they should allow Sharia courts in their country, said this of the cultural relativism that inspired the move:
‘It promotes tolerance and respect for so-called minority opinions and beliefs, rather than respect for human beings. Human beings are worthy of the highest respect, but not all opinions and beliefs are worthy of respect and tolerance. There are some who believe in fascism, white supremacy, the inferiority of women. Must they be respected?’
Nick Cohen, discussing this, went on to say that
"Richard J Evans*, professor of modern history at Cambridge, pointed out in Defence of History that if you take the relativist position to its conclusion and believe there’s no such thing as truth and all cultures are equally valid, you have no weapons to fight the Holocaust denier or Ku Klux Klansmen."
The fracturing of the Left provoked by the need for a response to conflict between the liberal West and militant Islamism originally provided me with little more than a sense of Schadenfreude. What an idiot I was. In fact, it is very pleasant to be able to agree with people like Cristopher Hitchens and Nick Cohen. It is a lot easier to feel comfortable alongside them than it is beside the increasingly virulent Tebbit, or the frankly bewildering George W. Bush.
* Richard Evans, the first book of whose continuing trilogy on the Third Reich I first picked up in an attempt to fathom the mystery that my friend Richie "The Flying Hippo" Evans - centre forward for a footie team I used to play in, fellow Morton fan, and rock'n'roll social worker - should be such a dark horse when it came to historiography.