The hollow, self-righteous defence of “our culture” and “our values” has become an incendiary chant of the far right — particularly in Western, majority white Christian nations.

Both are allegedly under attack — at risk of extinction no less — from, you guessed it, immigrants. Much of this furore has, unsurprisingly, been stoked by extremist politicians and their media stooges, doing what they do best: dividing communities and fuelling hate.

In the UK, Katie Lam, a Conservative MP, recently made the idiotic claim that by deporting “a large number of people in this country who came here legally,” the country would be left with “a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people.” Culturally coherent, no doubt, equates in her bigoted mind to white Christian.

It is a sign of the unhinged times we are living in, in the UK and many Western countries, that such comments can now be made with impunity. Lam was neither condemned nor publicly criticised by the leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, and has not been reprimanded.

Together with their misguided supporters, these reactionary fanatics insist that their nation’s culture — whatever that may be (it’s rarely defined) — is being eroded by foreigners: Muslims are often the primary targets, but others are also vilified: Pakistanis, Indians, Iraqis, Afghans, and people from sub-Saharan Africa — Black, Brown, or Arabic-speaking individuals, in other words. But they’re not racist, of course, these flag-waving opportunists; they just “want their country back.”

An essential ingredient of any self-respecting fascist is extreme nationalism — tribalism — and an exaggerated, false image of their nation. Historical ignorance is central to this construct, or rather, the selective use of history — cherry-picking fragments of the past and recasting them as patriotic myth.

Defining culture

The arts — visual and performing, high and low (that’s another discussion) — constitute the empirical core of a nation’s culture: museums, galleries, concert halls, literature, and theatre, but also television, pop music, pulp fiction, magazines, and radio. Culture, however, extends further still — encompassing religion, food, sport, social media, shared history, and, crucially, language, the nuanced medium through which ideas of nationhood and identity are expressed.

This broad and inclusive definition of culture is not, however, what the fanatics mean when they speak of their (national) “culture” being under threat. In their prejudicial world, culture has become shorthand for tribalism: a narrow, exclusive construct, readily adopted by those feeling disenfranchised and angry as a result of socio-economic injustice and extreme hardship.

The far right, and many centre-right politicians, increasingly openly define this construct as ‘white/white Christian.’ It is extremely dangerous and implicitly racist, and therefore anathema to true culture, which is inclusive, diverse, and rich with colour, sound, and movement.

Wherever the far right has a presence, and its poison spreads like a plague, the same false claims are made: that ‘our culture,’ supposedly more ‘pure’ than ‘their’ culture, is under threat and at risk of being polluted.

In Trump’s America, immigrants are portrayed as a threat to the “American way of life” and are actively targeted. In France, the “defence of French culture” is routinely cited to justify religious intolerance — such as banning the Burka. In Germany, the AfD — a fascist group supported by JD Vance — repeatedly claims that “German identity” is at risk due to immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa.

Even in sunny Australia, right-wing politicians and media increasingly present immigration and cultural diversity as a threat to “Australian values.” And in the UK, amid the growing prominence of Reform UK, the country is navigating a socio-political and cultural crisis.

All of these movements, and numerous others across the Western world, exploit fear and insecurity, using language, symbols (such as national flags), and media as instruments to inflame division and reinforce a false threat to cultural coherence.

The Far-Right Myth

The cultural life and content of these Western nations, especially younger ones like the US and Australia (where indigenous cultures have been systematically attacked, suppressed, and/or obliterated), is increasingly homogenised. Shaped by consumerism and materialistic values emanating from the imperial centre — America — this erodes individuality, making populations easier to control, more predictable, and simpler to influence or market.

As for Western “values” — freedom, justice, equality — these are routinely reduced to little more than slogans and political rhetoric, exposing the hypocrisy of duplicitous politicians who invoke such noble ideals to claim the moral high ground when criticising their adversaries, while simultaneously carrying out acts of violence and suppression at home and abroad. Their hypocrisy knows no limits.

Ironically, and in keeping with the double standards of the West, these nations have long imposed cultural colonialism on the Global South.

European imperialists forced their languages, religions, and ways of life on conquered peoples, erasing ancient cultures and traditions. Under American hegemony, since the end of WW2, money and military might became the instruments of control, while film, media, and corporate power export the ‘American way of life’ — a narrow, shallow, materialistic creed presented as the ideal for everyone.

The current rhetoric around cultural “contamination” being advanced by the far right is a manufactured political weapon, designed to coerce and enflame the public. It is a tool of division, deployed to distract from the real causes of inequality and societal fracture — political failure and the unjust, corrupt socio-economic system that dominates people’s lives.

There is no genuine “threat” to culture; in fact, this entire construct has nothing to do with culture at all — it is about power, control, and the continued manipulation of the vulnerable and dispossessed within society.

Culture and diversity have always been enriching. The exchange of traditions, ideas, and stories builds stronger, more resilient communities. But such unity is exactly what the far right fears most: for it portends their end, and hence the attacks.

Theirs is the politics of hate, thriving on division and mistrust. True culture is unifying, rooted in our relationships — with one another, with ourselves, and with the natural world, in embracing difference rather than fearing it, and in exploring the shared human experience that unites us all.

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