Despite its policy confusion, Pauline Hanson’s One Nation is leading the polls. But is the idea of monoculture what their supporters want, asks ethicist Max Jeganathan?
One Nation is now the most popular political party in the country. Its Secret Harbour state by-election victory in WA and another round of national opinion polls confirm that it can turn disaffection into votes. But – like all good cons – there’s plenty they’re not telling you. As an Australian Tamil with an Anglo-Australian wife and mixed-race kids, I see more red flags than I’ve had cold beers or hot curries.
Recent backflips, front-flips and botched dismounts – by both One Nation and the Government – suggest that the only thing we’re at risk of being swamped by is immigration policy incoherence. And yet, national concern about immigration isn’t going anywhere. A recent survey found that 17% fewer Australians now say cultural diversity has been a good thing – the biggest drop on record.
Calls for a monocultural society are resonating.
The Simpsons
This all reminds me of an old episode of The Simpsons in which the people of the fictional town of Springfield are tricked into buying a mono-rail by mercurial conman Lyle Lanley. Springfield’s population is stressed and anxious. Inflation is persistent. Unemployment is creeping up. Politicians are unpopular. The conditions are ripe for a con. Feel familiar?
Pollster Jim Reed recently said that One Nation is “taking votes from those who feel ill-served, ignored or rejected by the major parties, and they’re voting for change, any change.” It echoes comments from the streets of Secret Harbour, and the final line of Lyle Lanley’s monorail pitch: “I swear it’s Springfield’s only choice. Throw up your hands and raise your voice … monorail!”
In recent weeks, well-meaning monoculturalists have assured me that it’s about values, not race or ethnicity. But in a recent speech, former PM Tony Abbott conflated ‘Anglo-Celtic core culture’ with a ‘Judaeo-Christian foundational ethos.’ Then, in an interview with far-right activist Tommy Robinson, Pauline Hanson declared that Australia’s immigration problems began when the White Australia policy was ended.
The monocultural fallacy
Here’s where the monoculture ideal gets derailed. It is, of course, a fact of history that Anglo-Celtic culture – largely courtesy of the British Empire anchored by a Christian values system – has had a significant influence in shaping our modern world. However, there is no exclusive link between Anglo-Celtic culture and Judaeo-Christian ethics.
Many of the so-called ‘Australian values’ talked about as needing protection – equality, dignity and fundamental freedoms – can be traced to the Christian moral framework. Even atheist philosopher Jürgen Habermas acknowledged that Western civilisation owes its moral foundations to the Christian ethic of love. Some monoculturalists are right about the religious roots of these ideals,
but wrong to colour-code or culture-code them.
One Nation’s newest state MP Luke Herdegen says he wants a return to the Australia he grew up in. Its newest federal MP, David Farley, declared that those coming here must ‘act Australian.’
Having been here for 42 years and having grown up swimming at the beaches around Secret Harbour, I suspect I might pass their tests. But that’s not the problem. The problem is that in a monocultural Australia, someone who looks like me is more likely than someone who looks like Luke Herdegen or David Farley to be given the test in the first place.
A different kind of patriotism
Yes, we must carefully examine – and smoke out – belief systems that threaten our core values. But this goes beyond blind monoculturalism and deaf multiculturalism. It requires a more dynamic brand of patriotism.
Cosmopolitan patriotism strives not for a monoculture, but for a shared culture. It recognises that the ethical foundations of our country can both transcend and reflect our cultural diversity. Cosmopolitan patriotism sees our cultural fabric less like a mosaic (separated by differences) and more like an alloy (strengthened by the different things we contribute).
Cosmopolitan patriotism is much harder work, and much more beautiful, than its shady cousin – monocultural nationalism. It is anchored in a shared love of country, not a belief in cultural superiority. Nationalism quickly deteriorates into defensiveness. But patriotism is propelled by service and sacrifice. That’s why we speak of our veterans, servicemen and servicewomen as patriots, not as nationalists.
Springfield’s monorail exploded on its first voyage, leaving a trail of destruction. By the time the people realised they’d been fooled, it was too late. In the science of con-artistry this moment is referred to as ‘the touch’ – the point of no return after which it is too late for the victim to retreat.
We are not there yet. But as we consider the sales pitch for a monocultural Australia, we would do well to take note of the warning signs.
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Max Jeganathan is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX). He served as an adviser in the Rudd-Gillard governments and is undertaking a PhD on the ethical foundations of liberalism.