Neo-Luddite Leftist Nativism
A disturbing plain-text, full-page ad in the September issue of The Atlantic Monthly. Negative Population Growth, Inc., contends "population growth should be halted as soon as possible, and eventually reversed." They advocate this in order to "restore and preserve the land we have inherited." For groups like these, the reverence of the environment is more important than the human beings who live in it --- plants, not people! This is the heart of the ad:
"Advocates of Massive Immigration Are Wrong!
"There are powerful forces that fight not only to keep immigration at the present high level, but to increase it. Among them are employers who want low-wage labor, ethnic groups whose leaders seek greater political power, and some humanitarians who believe in virtually open borders.
"They also include pro-growth advocates who believe that an ever-growing labor force, fueled by immigration, is necessary to achieve their goal of an ever-increasing GNP. That goal, in the real world of environmental and resource limits, is a recipe for disaster."
There, in a nutshell, is the worldview of this group: anti-opportunity for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, anti-empowerment for racial and ethnic minorities, anti-"humanitarians" (not sure how they meant the word), and anti-economic growth for all. Julian Simon, a renowned economist, devoted most of his professional life to the refutation of claims that population growth would result in economic and environmental catastrophe. The judgement of history has proven him right, for people are "the ultimate resource." In a market economy that rewards innovation of all types (and the resultant gains in productivity), there are boundless opportunities for the human race. Population issues are more acute in developing countries, where there are no immediate economic means to provide needed resources for unrestrained procreation. The developed world, however, is experiencing a decline in birth rates --- and this without the caterwaulling of groups like NPG.
The propensity for "high levels of procreation" is a longstanding rhetorical tool for xenophobes to induce the larger population into thinking that a particular group is "taking over." Previously, such claims were made against the Italians, the Irish, and the Chinese; now targeted groups are the Mexicans and assorted Latin Americans. The paleo-conservative and "pro-labor" anti-immigrant forces in this country should form an alliance with groups like NPG. The pitch? "Immigration. Bad for jobs. Bad for the environment."
Immigrants aren't to blame for sea changes in the workplace resulting from rapid technological advancements. What is deplorable about immigrant life in this country is the government's response to them --- public schools that do not teach the essential skills to succeed in the larger world, and yes, the workplace; a welfare system that still provides incentives to be a "customer in good standing"; asinine public pronouncements that breed and foster race-consciousness; and seemingly benevolent measures like making many government documents available in native tongues. The modern welfare state is the real enemy to the progress of immigrants and the nation's overall prosperity, as it is the grand facilitator of the "free lunch" and the income redistribution necessary for its provision.
I agree with what some have called the most infamous editorial the Wall Street Journal ever ran: "Open the Borders." What is needed, however, is a public policy that (1) treats individuals as sovereign individuals, not members of a larger voting bloc; (2) encourages those individuals to learn English as soon as possible, so that they may fully participate in American life; (3) eradicates the regulatory barriers which keep parents from finding the right schools for their children; and (4) provides incentives to either move into the workforce, the education system, or (ideally) the world of entrepreneurship. Immigrants have the passion to stake their claim in a way that we "native" Americans take for granted, as many of them lived in nations where individuality and productivity were quashed and may not yet have been re-discovered. For what could be more American than welcoming an infusion of "new blood" to rejuvenate the promise of this land of opportunity?
"Advocates of Massive Immigration Are Wrong!
"There are powerful forces that fight not only to keep immigration at the present high level, but to increase it. Among them are employers who want low-wage labor, ethnic groups whose leaders seek greater political power, and some humanitarians who believe in virtually open borders.
"They also include pro-growth advocates who believe that an ever-growing labor force, fueled by immigration, is necessary to achieve their goal of an ever-increasing GNP. That goal, in the real world of environmental and resource limits, is a recipe for disaster."
There, in a nutshell, is the worldview of this group: anti-opportunity for those at the bottom of the economic ladder, anti-empowerment for racial and ethnic minorities, anti-"humanitarians" (not sure how they meant the word), and anti-economic growth for all. Julian Simon, a renowned economist, devoted most of his professional life to the refutation of claims that population growth would result in economic and environmental catastrophe. The judgement of history has proven him right, for people are "the ultimate resource." In a market economy that rewards innovation of all types (and the resultant gains in productivity), there are boundless opportunities for the human race. Population issues are more acute in developing countries, where there are no immediate economic means to provide needed resources for unrestrained procreation. The developed world, however, is experiencing a decline in birth rates --- and this without the caterwaulling of groups like NPG.
The propensity for "high levels of procreation" is a longstanding rhetorical tool for xenophobes to induce the larger population into thinking that a particular group is "taking over." Previously, such claims were made against the Italians, the Irish, and the Chinese; now targeted groups are the Mexicans and assorted Latin Americans. The paleo-conservative and "pro-labor" anti-immigrant forces in this country should form an alliance with groups like NPG. The pitch? "Immigration. Bad for jobs. Bad for the environment."
Immigrants aren't to blame for sea changes in the workplace resulting from rapid technological advancements. What is deplorable about immigrant life in this country is the government's response to them --- public schools that do not teach the essential skills to succeed in the larger world, and yes, the workplace; a welfare system that still provides incentives to be a "customer in good standing"; asinine public pronouncements that breed and foster race-consciousness; and seemingly benevolent measures like making many government documents available in native tongues. The modern welfare state is the real enemy to the progress of immigrants and the nation's overall prosperity, as it is the grand facilitator of the "free lunch" and the income redistribution necessary for its provision.
I agree with what some have called the most infamous editorial the Wall Street Journal ever ran: "Open the Borders." What is needed, however, is a public policy that (1) treats individuals as sovereign individuals, not members of a larger voting bloc; (2) encourages those individuals to learn English as soon as possible, so that they may fully participate in American life; (3) eradicates the regulatory barriers which keep parents from finding the right schools for their children; and (4) provides incentives to either move into the workforce, the education system, or (ideally) the world of entrepreneurship. Immigrants have the passion to stake their claim in a way that we "native" Americans take for granted, as many of them lived in nations where individuality and productivity were quashed and may not yet have been re-discovered. For what could be more American than welcoming an infusion of "new blood" to rejuvenate the promise of this land of opportunity?
posted by Nikos A. Leverenz @ 2:04 AM
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