Although I'm now searching for the way forward (reading 'One No, Many Yeses and viewing 'Redesigning Civilisation with Permaculture) I can't help noticing that immigration shows just how the needs of the 'system' conflict with the needs of most people.
Simple really - For the highest profits, the 'system' needs to keep its labour costs as low as possible. Low wages, poor working conditions. So, what better than to sell the American dream to people from relatively poor (materially) countries and so encourage them to follow their dream and migrate. Often those who are the most skilled and entrepreneural migrate.
People who migrate and those in the host country have their sense of security and their culture threatened. Living standards of workers in the host country are reduced as pay and conditions go down. Communities are broken.
Result - Bigger profits for companies who can hold national governments to ransom by threatening to move their investments overseas if they aren't pandered to. The 'poorer' countries are denied the
contribution their most skilled would make to raising standards at
home. Boris Johnson has said we should welcome people who are skilled
and entrepreneural (no mention there of the loss of such skills to the
migrants' homeland)
Why does it continue? Those who live on profits and benefit most from importing cheap labour generally live in areas where their lifestyle is little affected by the migrant influx.
The mass media continually pitch 'native' workers against immigrants by selling stories of immigrants living off benefits, having huge numbers of children etc. Because of the effect on the lives, the culture, the sense of security of many in the host country they easily fall for the 'blame the immigrants' message.
Be interesting to see how the immigration debate goes in the run up to the next election.
The government is scapegoating immigrants, as well as those living on benefits, diverting attention from its own mismanagement of the economy
ReplyDeleteThanks for that Chris. I also think that by scapegoating immigrants 'they' are also taking attention away from the fact that immigration is a natural result of the system which calls for the cheapest possible labour and which sells the idea that a 'better' way of life is to be found in another place. The 'better' way of life usually belittles certain cultural lifestyles and sells the idea of the American Dream is what we should all be aspiring to. Scapegoating immigrants and those living on benefits also takes attention away from the real demons of the system who are the fat cats who are getting rich at the expense of the poor. Divide & rule!
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