Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Explaining immigration politics

The NY Times reports:
What is driving this surge in anti-immigrant populism in Western politics?

Michael Ignatieff has a theory, one rooted in his research as a professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, and in his experience as former leader of Canada’s Liberal Party.

According to his argument, what we’re seeing is, in part, an ideological split between cosmopolitan elites who see immigration as a common good based in universal rights, and voters who see it as a gift conferred on certain outsiders deemed worthy of joining the community. ...

Cosmopolitans are perpetually surprised that, A, they’re only 1 percent of the population, and, B, most people don’t think like them. ...

This is a story not just about nationalism. It’s also a story about inequality. The division between cosmopolitans and nationalists is going to define the 21st century. ...

Isaiah Berlin called nationalism the bent twig. Globalization can bend the twig back, but at a certain point it will snap back with renewed force, and that’s what’s happening in Brexit. It’s happening across Europe.
There is some truth to this. But I doubt that many of those elites really believe in universal rights.

Britain may not have solved its immigration problem with BREXIT. Scotland may seccede and join the EU. Britain rejected a woman PM because she had kids to make her more invested in the future, chose a new woman PM with no kids like Angela Merkel.

Human nature makes such women want to submit to foreign invaders.

1 comment:

Roger said...

I am told that the Northern Ireland peace was premised, in part, on EU membership to guarantee free movement between Ireland and N. Ireland. Maybe they will have to make a new deal. It will be interesting. Self-determination is better anyway.