January 29, 2024 - 6:25pm
Ilhan Omar has a reputation as one of the most progressive politicians in the United States. She is a prominent member of “the Squad”, the most Left-wing faction in the US Congress, and is especially vocal when it comes to foreign policy. Yet she recently gave a speech in which she sounded less like a bleeding-heart progressive and more like a full-blooded ethno-nationalist.
While addressing a Somali American crowd in a Minneapolis hotel in her native tongue, Omar proudly spoke of how “we, as Somalians […] are brothers and sisters, people of the same blood.” After taking a swipe at those who “claim to be Somalis” — referring to the semi-autonomous breakaway territory of Somaliland — for signing an agreement with Ethiopia on sea access, Omar assured her audience that she will “protect the interests of Somalia [and Somalis] from inside the US system”. As one of the community’s “daughters”, she is in the US Congress to make sure this is the case.
Right-wing commentators expressed their outrage at Omar for apparent “disloyalty”. That she was elected to represent her district in Minnesota in Congress, not the interests of the Somali ethnic group who form only a small part of her constituency, adds fuel to their claims. But this “long-distance nationalism”, as Benedict Anderson termed it, isn’t unprecedented. America is known for having a plethora of ethnic lobbies attempting to shape US foreign policy for the benefit of a particular country of ancestral origin. The Irish American diaspora has made notable efforts to lobby the US government to support the cause of Irish unification. Most of the time this isn’t threatening, but if it becomes politically influential — even affecting foreign policy — these old prejudices can become rather toxic.
Ilhan Omar, an American congresswoman, tells Somalians that she is Somalian first, Muslim second, and… [no, American wasn’t even mentioned].
Oh, and she says that her primary job in Congress is to protect Somali interests. https://t.co/ex5IlkAkR2
— Marina Medvin
(@MarinaMedvin) January 28, 2024
What was ironic about Omar’s speech, however, is that if a Zionist at an Aipac meeting were speaking in those terms about Israel (for example, Donald Trump saying to a meeting of American Jews that Benjamin Netanyahu was “their” prime minister) she would lambast them. But the terms Omar used to describe how Somali Americans should band together and fight for their interests in the American political arena seem reminiscent of the Israel lobby and its real and imagined effectiveness in advancing its interests.
It shouldn’t be surprising that immigrants can be shamelessly nationalistic about their homeland, have intense pride in their identity and history and not quite shake off long-held ethnic grievances. It’s why someone like Dua Lipa can be an Albanian irredentist — or why German Turks tend to vote for the Social Democrats in German national elections, but when the Turkish elections come around many vote for Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative Islamic party, the AKP.
This may sound like a paradox, but there is a rationality to it. For ethnic minorities in a Western country, it’s usually the Left-liberal or social democratic party that will try the hardest to garner their vote, even if they aren’t particularly liberal in outlook. Meanwhile, the Right-wing parties are often regarded as, ironically, not conservative enough or too hostile because of racism. So they have more to potentially gain from voting for the centre-left party even if they’re not particularly progressive socially and politically.
Of course, ethnic groups are not hive minds. There are wide variations of politics and social views within them. Many American Jews have long been discontented with groups such as Aipac and their links with Netanyahu. Likewise, many Somali Americans aren’t irredentists, nor do they think in terms of narrow clan allegiances. This is why it is increasingly important to have a political vision of politics which isn’t based on ethnic lobbying or communalism, especially in a multi-ethnic democracy. Omar would be wise to tread more carefully in future.
Ralph Leonard is a British-Nigerian writer on international politics, religion, culture and humanism.
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SubscribeAn interesting article but I don’t buy the premise.
Macron, Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau are not Nietzscherian rulers. Macron and Merkel are both from the school of managerial politics that Nietzsche would sneer at, though Macron has begun to move away from this, and Trudeau; he is a high priests of all that Nietzsche despised, an advocate of a servile, victim based culture, seeking to level society though “equity”.
More importantly, Nietzsche saw the Übermensch as bringing about a cultural golden age. I don’t think anyone today believes our culture nadir is anything to be proud of. If anything culture has less autonomy than it had in the Middle Ages, when at least Christian cultural hegemony produced sublime art. Christianity allowed art a certain freedom in its expression of the Divine, contemporary art by contrast, is allowed to convey nothing but the approved ideology and is devoid of any kind of soul.
It’s true that children of neo-liberalism may still be in power but Nietzsche does not applaud all who triumph.
“… in the Middle Ages, when at least Christian cultural hegemony produced sublime art. Christianity allowed art a certain freedom in its expression of the Divine, contemporary art by contrast, is allowed to convey nothing but the approved ideology and is devoid of any kind of soul.”
Brilliantly put Matthew.
Although the point of this article is they don’t actually believe it. Their disdain towards the slave masses is shown by how their manipulative words don’t match their actions. That this nadir is the darkness that will slowly be tin apart until neo-feudalism or a new slave economy which will lead to a new cultural golden age. He was of course wishing to bring back the social hierarchy of antiquity – but perhaps more harsher and with harder manumission. He saw the slave morality as pre-Christian (but given a great impulse by Christianity) latent in aspects of Socrates, Platonism, Euripedes, cynicisn, Epicureas and even Stoicism. Classical Republicanism and city states were also suspicious if they were nothing but a facade.
Nietzsche would surely dislike Trudeau, but equally he’d dislike any populist trying to get ahead by appeals to the mob, except if it was a clever ruse designed to screw them over. As the article states it is an ooen question who is best manipulating them. According to Nietzsche Ubermensch sees the masses as nothing more than a toy at best, rubbish to be cruelly eliminated at worst. Nietzsche would have despised the biological mysticism of the Nazis but woild habe admired how they manipulated base humanity and sent into them into meat grinder for the glory of the leaders. Because the masses are not to be goaded to ‘greater things’ because they are subhuman objects incapable of that and but to be humiliated into servility and used as pawns who are sacrified without a moments thought. Complaining, resentiment, instead of individual heroic action, is just inverted slave morality, and in that sense this article notes many of the ‘very online’ are more products of what Nietzsche disliked than men of the workd who have seized power by whatever means possible. The fact youtubers and social media people tend to have no real ability to dominate in the real world is weakness to Nietzsche. After all this was the moral order of pre-Christian west, where nothing was thought of infanticide, mass prostitution, cruel treatments to slaves and so on.
People tend to shy from the extreme harshness of Nietzsche’s vision to justify themselves when more than likely they are part of the disposable crowd.
There are some of us writers, artists and musicians in the hinterlands who are attempting to break through both barriers–the neutered politically correct, and the will-to-power manipulators– to reach, anew, to the rare-earth of art and the ethereal realm of music.
I, for instance, wrote and published an historical novel, the objective of which was to reach beyond that devoid kind of soul mentioned above, and bring forth an awareness of the King of Soul.
Furthermore, I had previously written and published an historical novel, set in London and in France in 1937, the purpose of which was to penetrate the smoky veil of time and to see more clearly through the Smoke of nazi extermination of all that is sacred and dear to humanity.
As Ferrusian Gambit also explains, I think the argument here is that all the ingredients of a Nietzschean subversion of liberal democracy are here with us today in the Neoliberal movement. Like the death of Stresemann in Weimar Republic, perhaps all that’s needed is the passing of the current crop of leaders (like Merkel), and Macron may find himself better suited to run as a superman – especially given he clearly doesn’t like the Woke either.
The emasculation of Liberalism today (with preference for Wokeism), given the right conditions which aren’t that unlikely, can give way to a Huxleyan or Orwellian nightmare Nietzsche would be proud of – and it looks like Macron is being encouraged to create one.
I don’t believe that Nietzsche saw value in a hierarchical society alone. The presented vision of a neo-liberal triumph looks more like the dystopian “men without chests” he prophesied but certainly did not approve of.
You may have a point – it’s been a long while I read Nietzsche or about him. But my recollection of Nietzsche is about noticing his disgust at gifted individuals being stopped from reaching their potential in particular due to petty ethical or social concerns, in his view, which of course he derided. Today’s unfettered Neoliberal system, at least as it exists today in US even in its Woke form, is about giving deserving individuals unlimited wealth and influence – given it’s not done in a racist/sexist/ableist/you name it way. Hence my agreement with the article.
I am Untermensch, through and through, but I couldn’t care less if our political leaders display “Magnificence, grandeur, courage, virility”. (Boris scores one out of four, which is one better than Macron.) I simply want them to show a bit of backbone and get issues such as illegal immigration under control.
Thank you for the early morning quick quiz question. I am going to go for number 4.
Wow, I’m impressed! I see, now, that I must up my game in order to provide a challenge worthy of Unherd’s readership.
Wow, we need a *this made me laugh* button SO MUCH. Really did nearly fall off my chair. (With tears in my eyes, I thank you.)
p.s. — I vote 2.
YO! UNHERD! You are the polling people! Give us a vote widget on this webpage so we can all vote on this one!
I hoped for #3, but was disappointed.
Trudeau as the Super-bugman, I see it.
But I always think of Neitzche more of a cross of cruelty, despair, and Nihil, in which had to construct a superman as there was nothing else but darkness otherwise.
“Since the advent of neoliberalism under Thatcher, Reagan, and Mitterand, the welfare state has, as Nietzsche predicted, given way to the growing power of corporations and to an international elite untethered by historical identities, religious pieties, or Christian ethical scruples.”
He may think them Supermen, I see them as evil, and the way for evil to rule is to remove ethics, Virtue, Nobility, Honour, and Self Sacrifice. And that is what the International Elite are doing so effectively with the tools he gave them, Perspectivism, Nihilism, Master and Slave Morality , honed into Post Modernism with Marx and Freud. I actually do not believe a-morality can exist. Once Morality is gone there is not a vacuum, but rather Evil is what remains. And this is what I feel his philosophy is.
“Rather it would be one made in the name of liberalism, whose promises of autonomy and equality have been perverted by elites who are already far “beyond good and evil”.”
Liberalism of the Christian tradition. Now Liberal means anything goes except traditional Christian Liberalism, and is part of the post – good and evil.
I think Macron is just a minor International Elite and a jerk.
Nietszche wrote wonderful words and his writing is a pleasure to read. Interpreters have been around for about 120 years and tend to cast his works in the world of today, whenever today was.
He was anti-Christian because he lived in a Christian world but he would probably be anti-religious today. His Ethics countered the English ideas of Bentham, Hume (Scottish), Mill and he saw that moral good did not mean doing charitable work. He believed that 99.9% of people were followers, the herd, and the 0.1% were thinkers or artists who would make the world better – we say, the UnHerd.
So the world needed excellent men to lead, not by charity but by stirring up the herd to better work.
All is this falls when the Internet is around. You no longer have to read because you have podcasts; you don’t have to think because your group tells you what to do. So the Internet means that the Unherd has expanded to about 10%. Anybody can say or do anything and it is all pretty meaningless. Women have arrived and there is no way they are going to obey male leaders any more. This site, UnHerd, is entertaining but it represents about 0.0001% of the world and is meaningless.
Meanwhile Macron will get re-elected, whatever is said here.
“This site, UnHerd, is entertaining but it represents about 0.0001% of the world and is meaningless.”
It is all meaningless, us all merely poor actors on an empty stage…..I am off to my study with a tumbler of whisky and revolver.
Although – Unherd is entertaining…..
As are u
No.
Vive Zemmour.
Dear UnHerd, I so enjoy your articles, best of journalism… However, I am disappointed you describing Emmanuel Macron as banker. Anyone who is not so knowledgeable in the world politics gets the idea that he became president from the world of banking. That is not so. He was in civil service at the time. Only 2 years early in his professional life he was an investment banker by Rothschild. That does not make him a banker.
ossibly a anker
Interesting and thought provoking. But Merkel, Trudeau and Macron as exemplars of the new Übermensch?! what about Trump, Farage, Putin, Xi, Orban, Zemmour? They are not mere backward looking right wing reactionaries – they are not afraid to stick their heads above the parapet, to say the unsayable. And while I’m at it, Musk and Bezos too. I’m sorry there are no women in that list, I can think of lots I know who fit the bill, several of them here, but none right now are on the stage, as it were.
Bezos maybe but Musk? A conman living of government subsidies and hawking ever more ludicrous vapourware (whilst reinventing the tunnel – now with strip lighting!) is not an ubermemsch.
as I am communicating with you via Starlink (courtesy E Musk) and actually saw several of his satellites being parked, back in November in the pre-dawn, he is not vapourware. A distraction or a blind alley, perhaps, but he does do stuff. And may even get to Mars
Exactly. It’s the loss of liberalism that’s endangering us all. It was the same situation 100 years ago with Nazis and Communists fighting each other around d a collapsed centre in Europe. Those in the two extremes had a lot more in common, with many former Commnuists becoming Nazis later on.
That’s why it’s wholly counter productive to call the Woke “liberals”..
They are not Liberals, but as a poster used above – Post-liberals. Like Post Modernists reject ‘Modernism’ – of all intellectualism of the Modern times (Renaissance to Modern) to decide that all which can be known is dialectic, and all discussion is combative, and thus all is oppressor/oppressed, and thus all are Identities of oppression and oppressed – Post Liberalism rejects the classic Liberalism of individualism, freedom, equality and instead goes with collectivism tempered by the oppressor/oppressed thing of postmodernism and Neo-Marxism. And so is what Woke is. A sick philosophy.
There’s certainly something to be said about the depletion of Liberalism and dissatisfaction with it. I found this article interesting on that: https://quillette.com/2021/07/22/the-rise-of-post-liberal-man/
He’s just a very naughty boy
While not wishing to comment on the article, “ Hugo Drochon, one of the French President’s most important intellectual supporters” is somewhat far fetched at least in France where he is famously unknown. A good benchmark to this is that he only shows one entry on Amazon France and UK and the book is in English and is absent from the Social Science Network so I would question his influence and him being an important intellectual the latter word being another word misused ,debased and abused . People of the calibre of Nietzsche, Burke, Hayek and many others being what I would call important intellectuals not just any scholar whatever his merits.
I disagree in believing that he is a super-idiot.
Bilge from start to finish. To give an example: the welfare state has not retreated. It is bigger than ever and only depends on corporations because they pay the tax. If it is overstretched it is because of design flaws inherent to top down centralised state monopolies. It is also because advances in medicine – not its state delivery – mean that there are millions of old with chronic conditions; millions of prematurely retired citizens, in terms of current lifespan and millions of new suppliants thanks to “open borders”. As for the suggestion that Macron represents anything more than posturing pretences tempered by opportunistic reversals, it is unworthy of this website.
This seems to explain the rise of the deep state.
Do we know Macron’s position on the utter degradation of Paris under the leftist Hidalgo regime? We never hear anything. But from his Eurotrash renovation of the Elysee I suspect he doesn’t notice.
In the last paragraph, substitute “liberalism” for “Post-liberalism”, and your article goes into my top 10 this year.
Good point, ‘Post Liberalism’ has taken over; the refutation of Liberalism’s Individualism and equality and freedom, and replacing it with collectivism and at the same time Intesectionality and Identity Politics. Not very Neitzcheian, but the same ending up as Fas* ism.