Swedish policy makers now openly reject the ‘Melting Pot’ as their model for integrating immigrants into society. Recent proposed changes to the Swedish constitution pose basic challenge to the nation-state and the principle of equality before the law.
The term, the Melting Pot, is commonly used to describe immigration, especially into the US, moving from a heterogeneous society and becoming more homogeneous, the different elements “melting together” into a harmonious whole with a common culture.
The consequence of recent proposed changes to Sweden’s constitution would, however, mean that the state would be obliged to support and maintain immigrant cultures, as they were when they came to, on taxpayers’ money, in Sweden.
The current constitution states that “Etniska, språkliga och religiösa minoriteters möjligheter att behålla och utveckla ett eget kultur och samfundsliv bör främjas”, which (in my translation) means: “Ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities’ possibilities for keeping and developing their own cultures and ways of society should be promoted”. The proposed change in the constitution substitutes the word ‘should’ with the word ‘must’. Caution is thrown to the wind and Sweden writes multiculturalism into her constitution. Any and all culture, language and religion of this world will be entitled to Swedish tax-kronor.
Furthermore, the term ‘every citizen’ (”varje medborgare”) is throughout the draft substituted with the term ‘everyone and all’ (“var och en”). Native Swedes are, in other word, put on par with immigrants, legal and illegal. The constitution and its provisions will basically extend to all of humanity as long as they set foot in Sweden.
This essentialist interpretation of culture, ethnicity, religion and language will mean more segregation and a multitude of state sponsored ghettos in Sweden. In the long run it will mean an end to the principle of equality before the law because foreign ways of life including legal codes such as Sharia will be constitutionally secured the right to equal treatment in Sweden. The Swedish politicians are writing themselves out of their own constitution.
I wish this was a joke. But it isn’t.