Passions About Migrants

Written on September 19th, 2016 in comment, politics Comments Off

Published on Immanuel Wallerstein, by blog owner, Sept 15, 2016.

… The basic argument in European public debate has been one between the advocates of compassion and morality who wish to welcome additional migrants and the advocates of self-protection and cultural preservation who wish to close the door against the entry of any more. Europe is in the spotlight for the moment, but parallel debates have long been going on across the world – from the United States and Canada to South Africa, Australia, Indonesia, and Japan.  

The immediate precipitant of the European debate is the massive outflow from Syria, where the deterioration of the conflict has created an acute state of personal danger for a very large percentage of the population. Syria has become a country to which it is considered against international law to return emigrants. The debate has been about what therefore to do.

There are three different ways in which one can analyze the underlying issues: in terms of the consequences of migrants for the world and national economies, for local and regional cultural identities, and for the national and world political arenas. A good part of the confusion stems from a failure to distinguish these three perspectives.

If one starts with the economic consequences, the principal question is whether taking in migrants is a plus or minus for the receiving country. The answer is that it depends on which country … //

… There is no middle path in this kind of cultural debate. It creates an absolute impasse. And precisely because it creates an impasse, this pushes the discussion to the political arena. The ability to prevail in implementing a cultural priority depends on being able to control the political structures. Merkel and Orban, as every other politician, must obtain political support (including of course votes) or they are removed from the decision-making process. In order to maintain themselves in office, they often have to make concessions to strong currents of opinion that they do not like. This may also involve adjustments in economic policy. So, if on one day they lay out a clear line of policy, the next day they may seem to be less firm. The actors have to maneuver in a national, regional, and world political arena.

Where will Europe be ten years from now in terms of feelings about migrants? Where will the world be? It is an open question. Given the chaotic realities of a world in transition to a new historical system, we can only say that it depends on the moment-by-moment changing strengths of the contesting programs for the future. Migrants are one locus of the debate, but the debate is much wider.

(full text).

Links:

Fifteen Years Later, Physics Journal Concludes All Three WTC Towers Collapsed On 9/11 Due To Controlled Demolition, on Countercurrents.org, by Jay Syrmopoulos, Sept 17, 2016: over the past 15 years many highly respected academics and experts have come forward to challenge the official narrative on the collapse of the WTC towers forwarded by the U.S. government. The official government position holds that the collapse of all three towers was due to intense heat inside of the buildings;
(my comment: this means, someone has deliberately demolished the towers while firefighters tried to safe people, killing them consciously … just one of the many big criminal acts to the rest of us – Heidi);

L’école pensée à partir des lois naturelles d’apprentissage, dans Classe maternelle, Gennevilliers/Accueil;
(voir aussi /Blog; /Contact; et les pages Expérimentation, 18 vidéos pour démarrer, Prochaine conférence, Lancez-vous, Activités pratiques, Cartographie, Témoignages des parents, Publications & Interventions, Forum, Dons);

Living at the Mercy of the North Wind, on Dissident Voice, by John R. Hall, Sept 17, 2016; They say that home is where the heart is. If this is so, my heart must be of the restless variety, for I’ve changed the location of home some forty plus times during my adult life. Apparently I’m not finished yet;

German migration watchdog accused of failure to detect fake refugee passports, on RT, Sept 17, 2016;

Trump Is the Symptom, Clinton Is the Disease, on Dissident Voice, by Roger D. Harris, Sept 17, 2016: open letter to my Progressive Pal who votes for the Lesser-of-Two-Evils;

Southern Insurgency: The Coming of the Global Working Class, on Socialist Projects.ca/Leftstreamed, Sept 17, 2016: with Immanuel Ness, Professor of Political Science at City University of New York, Viviana Patroni, Kyla Sankey, Sam Gindin, 4 videos on the Left Streamed Playlist - (the rest of the Left Streamed YouTube channel);

European Security with or Without Russia? on Inter Press Service IPS, by Roberto Savio, Sept 16, 2016: consequences of the Chinese-Russian Alliance on the relationship between USA and EU. The joint military manoeuvres between the Russian and Chinese navies, armies, and air forces has kicked off. It’s a clear message for Washington, which has recently strengthened its action in Asia, indicating that as a country that overlooks the Pacific, it wants to play an important role in the continent, aimed at containing the Chinese expansion …;

Australia’s Global ‘Exit’, Tribalism and International Institutions, on Dissident Voice, by Binoy Kampmark, September 15, 2016;

Militarised conservation threatens the DRC’s Indigenous People, on IPS, by Zahra Moloo, Sept 14 and 15, 2016: Part 1; Part 2;
related: Democratic Republic Of Congo DCR on en.wikipedia;

Cutting the Cords of Empire - the Spectacle of US Elections, on Dissident Voice, by William Hawes, September 14, 2016;

Analysis BRAZIL, on The Dawn:

Bikini A-Bomb Tests July 1946, on National Security Archive, Electronic Briefing Book No. 555, by William Burr with Stav Geffner, July 22, 2016:

  • Underwater Atomic Blast Contaminated Test Ships Making Them “Radioactive Stoves”;
  • Declassified Documents, Films and Photographs Depict Tests “Able” and “Baker” and Removal of Bikinians;

How India deals with squatters – Elephants used bulldoze illegal jungle shacks, on Mail Online.co.uk, March 14, 2013;

… and this:

uploaded by Accordeon Accordion Jo Brunenberg:

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