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''America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It'' is a 2006 non-fiction book by the Canadian newspaper columnist and writer
Mark Steyn Mark Steyn () is a Canadian author and a radio, television, and on-line presenter. He has written several books, including The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' bestsellers ''America Alone'', ''After America (Steyn book), A ...
. It forecasts the downfall of
Western civilization Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompasses the social no ...
due to internal weaknesses and Muslim population growth in Western countries and the world generally. Based on his own observations, Steyn says that the fall of the Western world is caused by three factors: demographic decline, unsustainability of the advanced Western
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
state, and exhaustion of civilization. By 2007, Steyn's ''America Alone'' had already convinced many American conservatives that there was an imminent and inevitable Muslim invasion. The Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) filed Human rights complaints against ''Maclean's'' magazine—in which they accused the magazine of
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...
—with the
Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...
, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the Ontario Human Rights Commission, based partly on ''Maclean's'' publication of a chapter from Steyn's book, "The Future Belongs to Islam".


Overview

In ''America Alone'', which is set in the context of the global war on terror, Steyn argues that "much of what we loosely call the Western world will not survive the twenty-first century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most European countries." According to a July 1, 2007 ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
'' article, Steyn says that white people "are too self-absorbed to breed", while the Muslim population is increasing rapidly—the 20 million European Muslims in 2006, will have increased to over 150 million by 2015. As a result, there will be a "large-scale evacuation operations circa 2015". Europe will cede to Al Qaeda and "Greater France" will "remorselessly evolve into Greater Bosnia." Steyn attributes the forecast fall of the Western world to three factors,
demographic Demography () is the statistics, statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analy ...
decline, unsustainability of the advanced Western social-democratic state, and exhaustion of civilization. Steyn based his argument of population decline on his own observation that European nations have low birth rates while Muslim nations have higher
birth rate Birth rate, also known as natality, is the total number of live childbirth, human births per 1,000 population for a given period divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registr ...
s. Steyn wrote that in the 2000s, the population of the developed world declined from about 30% of world population to around 20%, while the population of Muslim nations increased from about 15% to 20%. He argued that the advanced Western social-democratic state was unsustainable, based on his observation that the responsibilities of normal adults—such as care of the elderly, childcare, health care and insurance, have been slowly taken over by the state. Steyn argues that these programs erode humanity's basic sense of self-reliance to a point at which a more resilient group of people – Muslims in his view – will take control. He said that civilization is exhausted because Western nations are so focused on moral and
cultural relativism Cultural relativism is the view that concepts and moral values must be understood in their own cultural context and not judged according to the standards of a different culture. It asserts the equal validity of all points of view and the relati ...
—with "diversity" and "racism" as their new favorite words—that they are unable to see that their existence is threatened. Specifically, he argues that European nations have given up defending themselves and rely on the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
for their defense. He views
anti-Americanism Anti-Americanism (also called anti-American sentiment and Americanophobia) is a term that can describe several sentiments and po ...
as a symptom of civilizational exhaustion, whether manifested by Muslims (to whom the United States symbolizes gay porn, children born out of wedlock, immodest women, and immorality) or by Europeans (to whom the United States symbolises a crude and radical Christianity, fat
redneck ''Redneck'' is a derogatory term mainly applied to white Americans perceived to be crass and unsophisticated, closely associated with rural whites of the southern United States.Harold Wentworth, and Stuart Berg Flexner, ''Dictionary of American ...
s and uncontrolled firearms). However, in his view America is the most benign
hegemonic Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states, either regional or global. In Ancient Greece (ca. 8th BC – AD 6th c.), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' ...
power the world has ever seen. According to Steyn, America will be the last and only country—as all others will be taken over by Muslims—that will retain its sense of self-preservation, but this is not a given, as US enemies know that it ran from
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
and they hope that the United States will continue to flee when faced with a challenge. Steyn's final argument is that the Muslim world will not need to carry out an outright attack. Instead, Europe will collapse from " wimpiness" or "multicultural 'sensitivity,'" leading to betrayal of the state's core values. Thus, during the Danish 'cartoon jihad' of 2006,
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...
, then British foreign secretary, hailed the 'sensitivity' of
Fleet Street Fleet Street is a street in Central London, England. It runs west to east from Temple Bar, London, Temple Bar at the boundary of the City of London, Cities of London and City of Westminster, Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the Lo ...
in not reprinting the offending representations of the o-called
Prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...
." In a 2016 post on his personal blog, "Ten Years, and Slightly Less Alone", Steyn wrote that his book ''America Alone'' was still the "biggest story of our time". He said that, "the west's leaders still can't talk about it, not to their own peoples, not honestly....I'm glad I brought up the subject. And it's well past time for others to speak out". Steyn cites Robert D. Kaplan, author of ''The Coming Anarchy'', who has referred to countries and regions where "scarcity, crime, overpopulation, tribalism, and disease are rapidly destroying the social fabric of our planet" as "Indian territory." Steyn also refers to Thomas P. M. Barnett's 2006 book, ''Blueprint for Action: A Future Worth Creating'', in which he examines potential relations between the United States and Iran, Iraq, and the Middle East, China and North Korea, Latin America and Africa in the post-9/11 world. Steyn says that the "difference between the old Indian territory and the new is this: no one had to worry about the Sioux riding down Fifth Avenue. Today, with a few hundred bucks on his ATM card, the fellow from the badlands can be in the heart of the metropolis within hours. Here’s another difference: in the old days, the white man settled the Indian territory. Now the followers of the badland’s radical imams settle the metropolis. And another difference: technology. In the old days, the Injuns had bows and arrows and the cavalry had rifles. In today’s Indian territory, countries that can’t feed their own people have nuclear weapons." Steyn dismisses the danger of
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, '' The Population Bomb'', ''
The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential Economic growth, economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer ...
'', and
nuclear winter Nuclear winter is a severe and prolonged anti-greenhouse effect, global climatic cooling effect that is hypothesized to occur after widespread firestorms following a large-scale Nuclear warfare, nuclear war. The hypothesis is based on the fact ...
.


Critical reception

The ''New Republic'' article said that by 2007, Steyn's ''America Alone'', had already convinced the readers of the ''
National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
''—which he called "the bible of American conservatism"—of an imminent and inevitable Muslim invasion. In his 2007 '' City Journal'' review,
Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...
praised the book as "an admirably tough-minded book." Hitchens said that, "Mark Steyn's book is essentially a challenge to the '' bien-pensants'' among us: an insistence that we recognize an extraordinary threat and thus the possible need for extraordinary responses. He need not pose as if he were the only one with the courage to think in this way." The British novelist
Martin Amis Sir Martin Louis Amis (25 August 1949 – 19 May 2023) was an English novelist, essayist, memoirist, screenwriter and critic. He is best known for his novels ''Money'' (1984) and '' London Fields'' (1989). He received the James Tait Black Mem ...
also reviewed the book in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' and called Steyn as the "great sayer of the unsayable". Amis added, "I continue to hope that his admonitions will gain some momentum, despite the efforts of his prose style to impede it." Then President of the United States,
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, circulated copies to his
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
staff after reading Steyn's book. According to Steyn, it was also read by Democrat vice-presidential nominee
Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; February 24, 1942 – March 27, 2024) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. Originally a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Dem ...
and Spanish prime minister José Maria Aznar. In a 2007 ''
Spectator ''Spectator'' or ''The Spectator'' may refer to: *Spectator sport, a sport that is characterized by the presence of spectators, or watchers, at its matches *Audience Publications Canada * '' The Hamilton Spectator'', a Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, ...
'' review by British politician and prominent
Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...
campaigner,
Michael Gove Michael Andrew Gove, Baron Gove (; born Graeme Andrew Logan, 26 August 1967) is a British politician and journalist who served in various Cabinet of the United Kingdom, Cabinet positions under David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Rish ...
, he wrote that the fact that "many of Steyn's conclusions will be unpalatable to the European consensus only underlines how much a failure to face harsh truths has characterised the European response to the scale of the terrorist threat we face." Daniel Johnson said that Steyn is as "damning as he is persuasive: from demographic suicide to the abdication of self-defence, he conducts a forensic analysis of the hollowing out of the high culture for which the Continent was still respected a generation ago." Canadian newspaper publisher and author,
Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-British writer and former politician, Publishing, newspaper publisher, Investor, financier, and Fraudster, convicted fraudster. Black's father was businessma ...
in his review of Steyn's follow-up book ''After America: Get Ready for Armageddon'' referred to ''America Alone'' as extolling "...America’s heroic status as the chief and only plausible resister to the degeneration of the West and the endless primitive depredations of militant Islam, carried out with the mischievous connivance of a greedy and malevolent China." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting criticized the book as "inarguably Islamophobic," and author Suhayl Saadi in the ''Independent'' referred to it as "hysterical". In a March 2013 ''
Ethnic and Racial Studies ''Ethnic and Racial Studies'' is a peer-reviewed social science academic journal that publishes scholarly articles and book reviews on anthropology, cultural studies, ethnicity and race, and sociology. The editors-in-chief are Martin Bulmer (Uni ...
'' journal article, Nasar Meer wrote that the book was, "Remarkably similar to anxieties over western decline in the late 19th century." The book has been considered to popularize the
Eurabia "Eurabia" (portmanteau of Europe and Arabia) is a far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and u ...
theory of
Bat Ye'or Gisèle Littman (; born 1933), better known by her pen name Bat Ye'or (, ''Daughter of the Nile''), is an Egyptian-born, British-Swiss author and historian, known for her promulgation of the Eurabia conspiracy theory. She claims that Islam, and ...
, whose work has been expressly cited by Steyn.


Human rights complaints

In December 2007, Mohamed Elmasry of the Canadian Islamic Congress (CIC) filed Human rights complaints against ''Maclean's'' magazine with the
Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...
, the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal and the Ontario Human Rights Commission, accusing the magazine of publishing eighteen Islamophobic articles between January 2005 and July 2007. The articles in question included a column by
Mark Steyn Mark Steyn () is a Canadian author and a radio, television, and on-line presenter. He has written several books, including The New York Times Best Seller list, ''The New York Times'' bestsellers ''America Alone'', ''After America (Steyn book), A ...
titled "The future belongs to Islam"—an excerpt from ''America Alone''. The CIC said that Steyn's column was "flagrantly Islamophobic" and that it subjected Canadian Muslims to "hatred and contempt". The CIC's request for "equal space" to publish a response in ''Macleans'' was refused. The CIC also filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. The
Ontario Federation of Labour Ontario is the southernmost province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it is home to 38.5% of the country's population, and is the second-largest province by ...
, with its 700,000 members, put pressure on all relevant parties, including ''Macleans''' parent company, in support of the CIC complaint. The Ontario Human Rights Commission ruled that it did not have the jurisdiction to hear the complaint. The British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal heard the complaint in June 2008 and issued a ruling on October 10, 2008, dismissing the complaint. The Canadian Human Rights Commission dismissed the federal complaint on June 26, 2008, without referring the matter to a tribunal. The case has been cited as a motivating factor in the repeal of Section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.


Halper and Clarke book

The title of Steyn's 2007 book echoes that of the best-selling
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
scholarly 2005 publication by American Studies in the Department of Politics and International Studies' director, Stefan Halper, and Daniel Jonathan Clarke, ''America Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order'', which was also set in the context of the War on Terror. Halper and Clarke trace the early rise to prominence and influence of a small group of "radical intellectuals," the neoconservatives. The authors described how the neoconservatives succeeded in changing the global order by gaining control over American national security policy during the War on Terror. They persuaded US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
to abandon the bipartisan diplomatic approach that had worked against the Soviet threat since the 1950s and to replace the consensus-driven approach with a neoconservative foreign policy, which promoted military confrontation and "nation-building."


See also

* '' The West's Last Chance: Will We Win the Clash of Civilizations?'' * '' We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimism'' * '' The Death of the West'' *
Eurabia "Eurabia" (portmanteau of Europe and Arabia) is a far-right Islamophobic conspiracy theory that posits that globalist entities, led by French and Arab powers, aim to Islamize and Arabize Europe, thereby weakening its existing culture and u ...
* Danish cartoon controversy *
Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretar ...
* Reflections on the Revolution in Europe *
Niall Ferguson Sir Niall Campbell Ferguson, ( ; born 18 April 1964)Biography
Niall Ferguson
* Christopher Caldwell * '' Londonistan: How Britain is Creating a Terror State Within'' * '' While Europe Slept: How Radical Islam Is Destroying the West From Within'' * Human rights complaints against Maclean's magazine


Notes


References

Steyn, Mark (2016)
Never Mind the Prose Style...
. ''SteynOnline''.


External links


A review of America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It
by Theodore Dalrymple in
Claremont Review of Books The ''Claremont Review of Books'' (''CRB'') is a quarterly review of politics and statesmanship published by the conservative Claremont Institute. A typical issue consists of several book reviews and a selection of essays on topics of conserv ...

BookBites – Quotes from America Alone

Excerpt from book

Conversations with History


, {{YouTube, K375rwCgTSs, video, University of California Television, 2007-03-14 Books about foreign relations of the United States Books critical of Islam Current affairs books 2006 non-fiction books Conservative media in Canada Conservative media in the United States Eurabia Anti-Islam sentiment in Canada