On Immigration (In Europe)

I’m currently reading a book called Reflections on the Revolution in Europe, by Christopher Caldwell, which talks about how immigration (and Islam) has affected Europe.

Early on in the book Caldwell writes that though Britain has generally been against mass immigration, it has been without much conviction, which could be due to a sense of moral shame. In particular, he cites their being chased away from India had left them “feeling embarrassed and diffident.”

On this feeling, though, Caldwell writes,

If one abandons the idea that Western Europeans are rapacious and exploitative by nature, and that Africans, Asians, and other would-be immigrants are inevitably their victims, then the fundamental difference between colonization and labor migration ceases to be obvious.

Whether you agree or disagree with what he says, I think you’ll probably agree that it’s an interesting perspective to have nonetheless.