Perhaps one of the greatest realizations of the beginning of the 21st century will be the primacy of liberty over equality. For all the all the social experiments and engineering enforced by governments of all stripes aimed at “fairness” and “stability” none have found their success in reality. From the little red books of the East to the hijab bans of the West, state sponsored intrusions into sociocultural practices have proven to be a disaster.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel began by stating that her country’s attempts at multiculturalism “failed, totally.” The UK’s PM David Cameron agreed and endorsed a “more active, muscular liberalism.” Most recently, French President Nicolas Sarkozy joined in concurring that, “clearly yes, it is a failure.” There has been much backlash, particularly in France, where tensions with French Muslims have been a recurring theme of Sarkozy’s presidency. Several French Muslim news sites, such as SaphirNews, brushed his comments off as “hunting for votes on the far-right.”

Perhaps nowhere is this failure better seen than in Singapore which created a national fantasy of the “3 Multis” – multiracial, multi-religious, multiethnic. This is all predicated on the racial classification system that divides people into one of four categories: Chinese, Malay, Indian, Other. Not only is it not allowed to discuss race or religion, the government’s policies actively promote a sort of ethnic cleansing and eugenics-style apartheid to create a Utopian society where the nearly all citizens are college educated, non-Muslim, and Chinese. Rather than basking in the diversity of its population, Lee Kuan Yew just wanted to make everyone be like him. These socio-political fantasies, whether on the Left or the Right, create a dystopia where individuals’ differences are devalued and ressentiment thrives among anyone who can consider herself to be a minority.

Even Julia Kristeva, French author and cultural theorist, considered to be an icon of the feminism and multiculturalism movements, has abandoned the political correctness of such false dreams. Her 2001 interview with the New York Times states that “Ms. Kristeva believes that the group identity adopted by some feminist, gay and ethnic leaders as a pedestal for their revindications is outdated and even, in her word, ”totalitarian,” that freedom of the individual should take precedence over communitarianism, that political assertion of sexual, ethnic and religious identities eventually erodes democracy.”

While it took ten years for the leaders of Western Europe to come to the same conclusion, it hopefully won’t be as long for the people of Egypt and Singapore when they get the chance to change their governments (and societies) this year.

Do you agree? Vehemently disagree? Let us know in the comments.

[via AFP & Reuters; image by Michael Schmalenstroer]