The Failed Lebanese Experiment
Americans wondering about the future of a society that centers diversity as a core value should look at Lebanon, the 4,000 square mile eastern Mediterranean nation that just celebrated 80 years of equity as an official policy and the foundation of the state. Since 1943, Lebanon has found neither strength, unity, stability, cooperation, nor prosperity through its diversity and equity. Eighty years of history demonstrate that a continued adherence to the principle of diversity only exacerbates divides, produces political gridlock, paralyzes policy, suspends justice, breeds impunity, erodes and incapacitates state functions, and facilitates violence...
The recognition of 18 diverse religious identities and an attempt to maintain a sense of equity among them has become ingrained in the DNA of Lebanon’s government and society. The Lebanese constitution institutionalized the recognition of multiple identities and proportional representation. The different Muslim and Christian communities must be represented in Parliament with representation proportional to their population...
Currently, the country “functions” without a president, head of internal security, or governor of the Central Bank while enduring a historic economic collapse...
Noxious identity politics is a key byproduct of Lebanon’s emphasis on diverse religious identities. Identity is a source of power that is wielded by communities to achieve self-desired interests and outcomes...
Lebanon is not a particularly religious society. Religion marks identity just as race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality do in the U.S...
The United States is beginning to witness glimpses of the practice of adhering to diversity and equity at the level of the state...