Replace multiculturalism with multiethnicities

September 11, 2025

Raghid Nahhas makes the excellent suggestion that we replace “multiculturalism” with “multiethnicities” in which “belonging rests not on ancestry, culture or religion, but on adherence to democratic norms, equal rights and the rule of law”. Or we could say: anyone is welcome to come here as long as they adhere to our liberal, democratic, egalitarian and humanitarian traditions.

Perhaps multiracialism might be a better term, though we don’t want people to abandon their cultures completely, only those aspects that are illiberal, undemocratic, unequal or inhumane. This may be difficult for those who come from cultures that are misogynist, where women are treated as second-class citizens. While this should not necessarily exclude people who do come from such cultures, there needs to be some form of education about our values for all potential immigrants. There could even be a requirement that they sign an affidavit that they will abide by such values.

This discussion should be held in the context of the need to limit numbers to levels that can be sustained ecologically. Many of the people marching in the recent rallies were not anti-immigrant, simply anti-hyper-immigration which is what we have experienced in the years post-COVID.