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A review by libron26
The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam by Douglas Murray
3.0
I listened to the audio version of this book. Murray makes the case that Europe is dying. Only part of his case relies upon Europe dying demographically due to sub-replacement fertility rates combined with increasing immigration from the Middle East. Mostly, he talks a lot about the migrants themselves, the responses of the European elite to the issue and the general cultural malaise of Europe. If there was one thing I was frustrated with in this book, it is the fact that Murray scurries to and fro between interesting topics without diving critically into them with the depth I think they deserve. Hence, why I give this book only three stars.
It has been well-known that Europe has had sub-replacement fertility for a long time now. As the population ages, it needs young people to pay into the system to support the generous social safety benefits given to the aged. The European elite has decided to use immigration to help fix this issue. As an American who is a descendent of immigrants this European strategy makes sense to me. The issue Murray has is that Europe is not America. France has been defined by French people, Spain by Spanish people, etc. To say that they are "land of immigrants" like America is to falsify history. Also, there is the concern with the Middle Eastern immigrants not assimilating to liberal European values and of the EU not really trying to get them to assimilate. Here, Murray tells stories about weak-kneed European elites not standing up for those liberal values themselves. In the face of attacks by Muslim extremists, it is the European elite who side with the extremists against liberal values. Instead of standing with a free press in supporting a publication saying derogatory things about the Prophet Mohammad, they cowardly decide to capitulate and appease those extremists. Murray details other instances in which this has happened. When violent crime is committed, they excuse the criminals to assuage a politically correct (or I guess the term now is 'woke') guilt complex. What's disturbing here is not so much the Muslim extremists but the passivity of Europeans that no longer have the will to assert their own supposed moral values.
The picture painted is one of Europe being slowly abolished. From the French Revolution through the world wars, the Europeans have tried everything ideology-wise and are now exhausted. They've passionately done a lot and that passion has cost a lot as it has misdirected its youth into terrible wars, and subjugated other continents in the name of imperialism. Nowadays they don't have any of the confidence of yore. Maybe rightfully so after the disaster that was the Great War and World War II. Their American captivity since then has helped them rebuild to become prosperous advanced nations, but nations living on borrowed capital, nations without an underlying soul anymore. A people ripe to be thrown asunder by the tides of history. These Europeans are the 'last men' to use a phrase from Nietzsche.
I am not fully convinced by Murray's argument although I am sympathetic to parts of it. I think Muslim immigrants to Europe will change as the generations pass. They will probably moderate and seek assimilation, perhaps piece by piece but it will be a tide that increases with each new generation. The allures of modernity will attract 'converts.' This has happened before in America and it will happen in Europe just perhaps more slowly as they don't have a history of it like we do in the US. In the US, people just like Murray (Patrick Buchanan comes to mind) worried that certain groups wouldn't assimilate decades ago and now those groups are just as American as anyone else. Heck, I am descended of such groups.
As for his concern about Islam replacing Christianity in Europe, he may be right in the long run. If he is right though it will be due to the decisions made by the Europeans themselves. They've largely rejected their Christian patrimony so if Islam comes and becomes the dominant ethos of the Continent then that is really the fault of the Europeans, right?
I kept thinking through listening to this book about the contrast between Europe and Japan. Japan is also a rapidly aging society too but unlike Europe they are not bringing in immigrants to re-fortify their economy. Does Murray wish Europe took the Japanese path? It seems like he does but that brings its own issues as well. Murray brings up the fact that polls show that Europeans themselves do not want high levels of immigration. Europeans are at odds with their elites about this. The European Union has the appearance of democracy but is in actuality a convoluted mess from what I've gathered in my studies of it.
From my look at other reviews of this controversial book, I see a lot of just praise or condemnation depending on what side of the political spectrum one is one. I think a book like this deserves critical engagement. It is hitting on a real issue in Europe but is perhaps overstating its case by a bit.
It has been well-known that Europe has had sub-replacement fertility for a long time now. As the population ages, it needs young people to pay into the system to support the generous social safety benefits given to the aged. The European elite has decided to use immigration to help fix this issue. As an American who is a descendent of immigrants this European strategy makes sense to me. The issue Murray has is that Europe is not America. France has been defined by French people, Spain by Spanish people, etc. To say that they are "land of immigrants" like America is to falsify history. Also, there is the concern with the Middle Eastern immigrants not assimilating to liberal European values and of the EU not really trying to get them to assimilate. Here, Murray tells stories about weak-kneed European elites not standing up for those liberal values themselves. In the face of attacks by Muslim extremists, it is the European elite who side with the extremists against liberal values. Instead of standing with a free press in supporting a publication saying derogatory things about the Prophet Mohammad, they cowardly decide to capitulate and appease those extremists. Murray details other instances in which this has happened. When violent crime is committed, they excuse the criminals to assuage a politically correct (or I guess the term now is 'woke') guilt complex. What's disturbing here is not so much the Muslim extremists but the passivity of Europeans that no longer have the will to assert their own supposed moral values.
The picture painted is one of Europe being slowly abolished. From the French Revolution through the world wars, the Europeans have tried everything ideology-wise and are now exhausted. They've passionately done a lot and that passion has cost a lot as it has misdirected its youth into terrible wars, and subjugated other continents in the name of imperialism. Nowadays they don't have any of the confidence of yore. Maybe rightfully so after the disaster that was the Great War and World War II. Their American captivity since then has helped them rebuild to become prosperous advanced nations, but nations living on borrowed capital, nations without an underlying soul anymore. A people ripe to be thrown asunder by the tides of history. These Europeans are the 'last men' to use a phrase from Nietzsche.
I am not fully convinced by Murray's argument although I am sympathetic to parts of it. I think Muslim immigrants to Europe will change as the generations pass. They will probably moderate and seek assimilation, perhaps piece by piece but it will be a tide that increases with each new generation. The allures of modernity will attract 'converts.' This has happened before in America and it will happen in Europe just perhaps more slowly as they don't have a history of it like we do in the US. In the US, people just like Murray (Patrick Buchanan comes to mind) worried that certain groups wouldn't assimilate decades ago and now those groups are just as American as anyone else. Heck, I am descended of such groups.
As for his concern about Islam replacing Christianity in Europe, he may be right in the long run. If he is right though it will be due to the decisions made by the Europeans themselves. They've largely rejected their Christian patrimony so if Islam comes and becomes the dominant ethos of the Continent then that is really the fault of the Europeans, right?
I kept thinking through listening to this book about the contrast between Europe and Japan. Japan is also a rapidly aging society too but unlike Europe they are not bringing in immigrants to re-fortify their economy. Does Murray wish Europe took the Japanese path? It seems like he does but that brings its own issues as well. Murray brings up the fact that polls show that Europeans themselves do not want high levels of immigration. Europeans are at odds with their elites about this. The European Union has the appearance of democracy but is in actuality a convoluted mess from what I've gathered in my studies of it.
From my look at other reviews of this controversial book, I see a lot of just praise or condemnation depending on what side of the political spectrum one is one. I think a book like this deserves critical engagement. It is hitting on a real issue in Europe but is perhaps overstating its case by a bit.