Mark Steyn: It’s the demography, stupid

The Spectator (U.K.) ^ | 11/12/05 | Mark Steyn

[MEG33]

Great column.

[dead]

Always insightful bump.

[NCSteve]

Breathtaking.

That kind of phrase-turning is not for amateurs or the faint of heart.

[July 4th]

Likewise, if you marginalise religion, only the marginalised will have religion.

Awesome line.

[NeoCaveman]

A decade ago, for example, I tended to accept the experts’ line that Japan’s rising sun had gone into eclipse because its economy was riddled with protectionism, cronyism and inefficient special-interest groups. But so what? You could have said the same 30 years ago, when the joint was booming. The only real difference is that Japan’s population was a lot younger back then.

I didn't know Steyn did economic analysis, but he nails that too.

[maica]

And when it comes to those living in France aged 20 and under, about 30 per cent are said to be Muslim and in the major urban centres about 45 per cent. If it came down to street-by-street fighting, as Michel Gurfinkiel, the editor of Valeurs Actuelles, points out, ‘the combatant ratio in any ethnic war may thus be one to one’ — already, right now, in 2005.

#####

Which should be stated on every newscast that discusses "youths" throwing molotov cocktails.

IT'S THE DEMOGRAPHY!

[antisocial]

Someone needs to send a copy of this to the Mexifornia legislature and insist on a mandatory reading.

[Sloth]

Steyn is the greatest non-fiction writer alive today.

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

A hyper-rationalist might dismiss the whole God thing as a lot of apple sauce, but his hyper-rationalism is a lot more vulnerable in a society without a strong Judaeo-Christian culture...if you marginalise religion, only the marginalised will have religion. That’s why France’s impoverished Muslim ghettos display more cultural confidence than the wealthiest enclaves of the capital.

Brilliant, and true. 

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

M. de Villepin put it very well: ‘What does it matter where this path leads, nowhere or elsewhere?’

LOL

[Lurker]

Unless you act, you’re going to lose your world.

Mr. Steyn does indeed 'get it.'

L

[Steel Wolf]

It is not necessary, incidentally, for Islam to become a statistical majority in order to function as one.

Ask the Shiites and Kurds of Iraq about the numbers game. They spent decades being dominated by 25% of the country's population. I have no doubt that if the North Africans get motivated and organized, they'll be able to push the French majority around with surprising ease.

[NCSteve]

American firearms owners have a popular slogan: ‘If you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns.’ Likewise, if you marginalise religion, only the marginalised will have religion. That’s why France’s impoverished Muslim ghettos display more cultural confidence than the wealthiest enclaves of the capital.

Yes! Yes! Yes! Why is this so hard for the elites to understand?

[Tax-chick]

Very interesting perspective.

[Tax-chick]

If I tried that, I'd probably just sound silly :-).

[Rosemont]

Thanks for the post.

[Scourge of God]

The thesis of this whole problem: modern liberal values lead to disintegration and the collapse of civilization.

The solution to this problem: Christian values build civilizations and vibrant, energetic, and prosperous cultures.

[NCSteve]

I wonder if M. de Villepin got the subtlety. If English wasn't one's first language, it might be difficult to understand how deep was the jab.

[alwaysconservative]

Thanks for the ping, Pokey! Is it my imagination, or is Steyn getting glummer (or at least more nihilistic) as he writes about Eurabia?