Ever since the Woolwich murder I’ve noticed an upsurge in the use of what is now my least favourite cant phrase – ‘community cohesion’. Political cant proliferates when theory fails to match reality, and today we have a diverse and vibrant array of words and phrases that mean two contradictory things at once, and also nothing. It’s important to talk about community cohesion because diversity is our strength, and also our weakness, and should be celebrated, and policed.
Community cohesion also has a darker Singaporean edge. In Singapore, the world’s first truly multicultural modern state, speeches and broadcasts can be arbitrarily shut down if community leaders believe them to be offensive or threatening, so that no real criticism of religion is permitted. Surrounded by countries torn apart by religious and racial hatred, the Singaporeans see this as a good trade-off.
Britain is going down the same one-way street, which is why the Home Secretary has banned
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