Fukuyama's back

Francis Fukuyama, arguably the most important public intellectual of the 90s, is back.

In his latest piece, titled "Europe vs. Radical Islam", he says that the squishy and apologetic multiculturalism of the left, which too often denigrates into a fearful political correctness in the name of cultural affirmation, is not the way to deal with the threat of radical Islam because it incubates ghettoes from the broader society at large. However, for Fukuyama, the contemptuous tribalism of a Pat Buchanan is an equally erroneous path.

I wonder if this tension can engender a new sort of civic nationalism that can unify both observant Muslims and everyone else. Even if not, I think that Canada is well placed to bridge the gap between the two approaches. We haven't had an attack (yet), we are not overly religious, and we encourage tolerance of faiths. However, there is a well-observed desire to limit that tolerance, even if the CBC doesn't think so. The challenge for the new government here will be to lead the way and not let political considerations undermine the importance of striking that balance.