Western civilization is experiencing a crisis, and the Afrikaner can play a major role in preventing this civilization from being destroyed.
This was the consensus of several experts on Tuesday during a conference by Akademia to reflect on the crisis of the West.
According to Jaco Kleynhans, Solidarity’s head of international relations, no one can argue that Western civilization is currently facing a crisis. This crisis is caused by internal and external factors, including self-hatred, jealousy of other powers especially in the East, and demographic change.
“Many Westerners suffer from an internal self-hatred, due to a tendency to criminalize everything the West does and has done. The onslaught on Western culture is enormous, especially when it comes to the political system. Democracy, the free market system and property rights are losing their appeal.”
He also mentions that the influx of immigrants from other parts of the world and Westerners’ own reluctance to have children has resulted in a change in their demographics, which presents further challenges.
Also Dr. Ernst Roets, the Solidarity Movement’s head of policy, believes that the West’s fight is against a modern kind of anti-civilization, an ideology that wants to destroy the values of Western culture, such as the Christian faith.
However, Kleynhans does not believe that this civilization will simply fall, partly because of the rich cultural, economic and political contribution it has made to world history.
“However, it is the case that we cannot rely on great powers such as America or the European Union to save Western civilization. Rather, it now becomes the responsibility of smaller communities that are spread all over the world and live out Western culture.”
For this, Roets and Kleynhans believe, the Afrikaner is particularly well positioned, because of the lessons the nation has learned from its history.
“After the fall of apartheid, there is a type of anti-Afrikaner sentiment in South Africa, where we are treated as second-class citizens and presented as scapegoats for everything that goes wrong in the country.”
He says that this is why a new kind of Afrikaner has come into existence, one that is disillusioned with the state and is characterized by a rediscovery of culture and the modern world. “We learned that the solution lies in community and our own institutions, rather than the state. That is why the Afrikaner is in the front lines of the protection battle. We have to find solutions to the West’s problems.”
He says the Afrikaner is relevant again because he can be part of the solution and the rest of the world can learn from his experiences. “Several European communities are now reaching out to us. They recognize our shared values and also what Afrikaners have achieved.”
“We are responsible for the continuation of the Western tradition. Not only here, but in the ends of the earth.”
