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Cultures #2
Migrations and Cultures: A World View
Most commentators look at the issue of immigration from the viewpoint of immediate politics. In doing so, they focus on only a piece of the issue and lose touch with the larger picture. Now Thomas Sowell offers a sweeping historical and global look at a large number of migrations over a long period of time.Migrations and Cultures: shows the persistence of cultural traits, in particular racial and ethnic groups, and the role these groups’ relocations play in redistributing skills, knowledge, and other forms of “human capital.” answers the question: What are the effects of disseminating the patterns of the particular set of skills, attitudes, and lifestyles each ethnic group has carried forth—both for the immigrants and for the host countries, in social as well as economic terms?
516 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
47 people are currently reading
1852 people want to read
About the author
Thomas Sowell
95 books5,472 followersThomas Sowell is an American economist, social philosopher, and political commentator. He is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. With widely published commentary and books—and as a guest on TV and radio—he became a well-known voice in the American conservative movement as a prominent black conservative. He was a recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President George W. Bush in 2002.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
Sowell was born in Gastonia, North Carolina and grew up in Harlem, New York City. Due to poverty and difficulties at home, he dropped out of Stuyvesant High School and worked various odd jobs, eventually serving in the United States Marine Corps during the Korean War. Afterward, he took night classes at Howard University and then attended Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1958. He earned a master's degree in economics from Columbia University the next year and a doctorate in economics from the University of Chicago in 1968. In his academic career, he held professorships at Cornell University, Brandeis University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He has also worked at think tanks including the Urban Institute. Since 1977, he has worked at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, where he is the Rose and Milton Friedman Senior Fellow on Public Policy.
Sowell was an important figure to the conservative movement during the Reagan era, influencing fellow economist Walter E. Williams and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He was offered a position as Federal Trade Commissioner in the Ford administration, and was considered for posts including U.S. Secretary of Education in the Reagan administration, but declined both times.
Sowell is the author of more than 45 books (including revised and new editions) on a variety of subjects including politics, economics, education and race, and he has been a syndicated columnist in more than 150 newspapers. His views are described as conservative, especially on social issues; libertarian, especially on economics; or libertarian-conservative. He has said he may be best labeled as a libertarian, though he disagrees with the "libertarian movement" on some issues, such as national defense.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
March 25, 2014
This is one of those "desert island" books for me: a book so dense with information that I'm going through it a second time and still so little sticks in my brain of the data. That does not mean however that the general picture isn't crystal clear: again and again, with civilization and culture after culture the same patterns seem to repeat.
Weather it is the germans, chinese, jews, indians or the italians, the walk through the history of their migrants tell a very rich and lesson full tale. Personally what stuck with me are some patterns for cultures that save and put value on work, and their success again and again not despite, but especially because they didn't pay much attention to the politics, but knew that real wealth and prosperity is acquired by... wait for it... CREATING it, not by taking it from somebody else with the force of the government, but by creating things and services for the people around you. This method seems to be so very successful that many times it results even in a painful backlash as many local populations often get very jealous and vengeful as they see that poor immigrants can rise much faster than they do, despite all their advantages. Many lessons can be learned from history, and the history of people is especially valuable!
Weather it is the germans, chinese, jews, indians or the italians, the walk through the history of their migrants tell a very rich and lesson full tale. Personally what stuck with me are some patterns for cultures that save and put value on work, and their success again and again not despite, but especially because they didn't pay much attention to the politics, but knew that real wealth and prosperity is acquired by... wait for it... CREATING it, not by taking it from somebody else with the force of the government, but by creating things and services for the people around you. This method seems to be so very successful that many times it results even in a painful backlash as many local populations often get very jealous and vengeful as they see that poor immigrants can rise much faster than they do, despite all their advantages. Many lessons can be learned from history, and the history of people is especially valuable!
December 25, 2010
The story of six ethnic groups who migrated away from their homelands in large numbers - the Germans, the Japanese, the Italians, the Chinese, the Jews and the Indians. There are of course many more examples of mass migration, but these groups are representative. Many found niches in their host societies as "middleman minorities" - shopkeepers, moneylenders, peddlers, rent and tax collectors and the like. They were reviled by the majority ethnic group, who accused them of overcharging their customers and, contradictorily, of undercutting their competitors. Think of Gogol's Taras Bulba and Yankel, or more recently, Andrew Young and the Koreans, Arabs and Jews, or more tragically, Latasha Harlins and Soon Ja Du. Yet when they were expelled, as Idi Amin did with the Indians of Uganda and medieval European rulers did with Jews, the economy was wrecked. The hosts do not understand the reasons for the prosperity of the minority, like the Zambezi boatman who told Paul Theroux that the Indians catch diamond-stuffed fish using hearts of African virgins as bait.
Some of the ethnic groups and subgroups profiled came with the skills that made them richer than their hosts, as with German clockmakers and brewers who emigrated to the Americas. Some became rich through hard work, as the Volga Germans did first in Russia, and then, re-emigrating, in South America, running farms on the frontier that were much more productive than the farms of their Russian and Argentine neighbors. Some were poor but still lived honorably; far fewer Italian women in the United States became prostitutes than equally poor Irish and Jewish women. Different ethnic groups were concentrated in different occupations, had different family lives, and different attitudes towards education; for example, the Italians were much more tolerant of having their children work instead of going to school than American laws allowed. Attitudes towards their mother country were also different; the Japanese Brazilians were ultra-nationalistic; when Japan lost World War II, some Japanese Brazilians organized a tour to the Atlantic coast to meet the victorious Japanese Navy, and murdered those of their community who said that the Japanese Navy had been sunk; the Japanese Americans were much less nationalistic, which is ironic given that they were treated much more harshly.
Sowell is not a biological racist; he does not say that the Cambodians run donut shops because they have a gene for it, and that the Jews are bad at farming because they don't have the right genes. He is a culturalist, though; he claims that some cultures are better in reaching wealth and avoiding poverty than others. A professor of ethnic studies may claim that no culture is better than any other; most other observers disagree, finding that members of different ethnic groups are more or less likely to have children out of wedlock, to save for their children's education, and in college to choose liberal arts versus engineering - and they choose to emulate some and disdain others. Why, asks Sowell, should we honor the professor's point of view over that of the other observers? Of course discrimination also affects the fates of different minority ethnic groups, but Sowell contends that its role is secondary to that of the group's own culture. This is of course wildly controversial, but I think he has a point. Why would the Japanese of mainland United States be more prosperous than the Japanese of Hawaii, the North Italians in the United States more than the South Italians? From the majority's point of view they are all Japanese and Italian.
Some of the ethnic groups and subgroups profiled came with the skills that made them richer than their hosts, as with German clockmakers and brewers who emigrated to the Americas. Some became rich through hard work, as the Volga Germans did first in Russia, and then, re-emigrating, in South America, running farms on the frontier that were much more productive than the farms of their Russian and Argentine neighbors. Some were poor but still lived honorably; far fewer Italian women in the United States became prostitutes than equally poor Irish and Jewish women. Different ethnic groups were concentrated in different occupations, had different family lives, and different attitudes towards education; for example, the Italians were much more tolerant of having their children work instead of going to school than American laws allowed. Attitudes towards their mother country were also different; the Japanese Brazilians were ultra-nationalistic; when Japan lost World War II, some Japanese Brazilians organized a tour to the Atlantic coast to meet the victorious Japanese Navy, and murdered those of their community who said that the Japanese Navy had been sunk; the Japanese Americans were much less nationalistic, which is ironic given that they were treated much more harshly.
Sowell is not a biological racist; he does not say that the Cambodians run donut shops because they have a gene for it, and that the Jews are bad at farming because they don't have the right genes. He is a culturalist, though; he claims that some cultures are better in reaching wealth and avoiding poverty than others. A professor of ethnic studies may claim that no culture is better than any other; most other observers disagree, finding that members of different ethnic groups are more or less likely to have children out of wedlock, to save for their children's education, and in college to choose liberal arts versus engineering - and they choose to emulate some and disdain others. Why, asks Sowell, should we honor the professor's point of view over that of the other observers? Of course discrimination also affects the fates of different minority ethnic groups, but Sowell contends that its role is secondary to that of the group's own culture. This is of course wildly controversial, but I think he has a point. Why would the Japanese of mainland United States be more prosperous than the Japanese of Hawaii, the North Italians in the United States more than the South Italians? From the majority's point of view they are all Japanese and Italian.
October 12, 2021
This one was a mixed bag for me... Although I never thought I'd say this about a book from Thomas Sowell, I was close to putting it down a few times.
Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and one of the most formidable contrarian thinkers of the modern age, IMHO.
Thomas Sowell:
Migrations And Cultures is book #2 of his "Culture" trilogy.
Unfortunately, I found the writing here to be markedly drier than his other books, all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
The book is an extensive examination of the historical movements of large groups of people. Sowell examines these migrations, and their related socio-economic ramifications.
Many broad migrations are covered, including:
• World War 2 era mass migrations. Migrations between Russia and Germany are covered.
• Germans around the world. Germans in Brazil are extensively covered.
• Japanese around the world. Japanese in Brazil are covered, as are their migrations to North America.
• Italians around the world.
• The overseas Chinese.
• Jews of the diaspora.
• The overseas Indians.
• History and Cultures.
I am generally a fan of Sowell's writing, and I usually find his books incredibly interesting, and well-written. Unfortunately, this one just did not resonate the same way with me. I found the book to be almost like a long-form encyclopedia article. The typical pizzazz that Sowell writes with was absent here, IMHO...
The book was also much longer than it could have been. The version I have clocked in at 530 pages (PDF), and 16 hours, 30 mins for the audiobook. A decent chunk of which could have been edited out; for the sake of both brevity and clarity.
*****************************
Despite being excited to continue this trilogy, this one did not meet my expectations, or the high water mark that Sowell established with his other books. Possibly a subjective thing, but I just didn't like this one as much as his other offerings...
It is chock full of factual data, and no doubt the end result of hundreds of hours of research. However, the final product just did not resonate with me...
2.5 stars.
Thomas Sowell is an American economist, social theorist, senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and one of the most formidable contrarian thinkers of the modern age, IMHO.
Thomas Sowell:
Migrations And Cultures is book #2 of his "Culture" trilogy.
Unfortunately, I found the writing here to be markedly drier than his other books, all of which I have thoroughly enjoyed.
The book is an extensive examination of the historical movements of large groups of people. Sowell examines these migrations, and their related socio-economic ramifications.
Many broad migrations are covered, including:
• World War 2 era mass migrations. Migrations between Russia and Germany are covered.
• Germans around the world. Germans in Brazil are extensively covered.
• Japanese around the world. Japanese in Brazil are covered, as are their migrations to North America.
• Italians around the world.
• The overseas Chinese.
• Jews of the diaspora.
• The overseas Indians.
• History and Cultures.
I am generally a fan of Sowell's writing, and I usually find his books incredibly interesting, and well-written. Unfortunately, this one just did not resonate the same way with me. I found the book to be almost like a long-form encyclopedia article. The typical pizzazz that Sowell writes with was absent here, IMHO...
The book was also much longer than it could have been. The version I have clocked in at 530 pages (PDF), and 16 hours, 30 mins for the audiobook. A decent chunk of which could have been edited out; for the sake of both brevity and clarity.
*****************************
Despite being excited to continue this trilogy, this one did not meet my expectations, or the high water mark that Sowell established with his other books. Possibly a subjective thing, but I just didn't like this one as much as his other offerings...
It is chock full of factual data, and no doubt the end result of hundreds of hours of research. However, the final product just did not resonate with me...
2.5 stars.
March 15, 2021
The huge picture view of the crawling migrant crisis
June 25, 2016
Chiefly, this book talks about the history of certain migrant groups of people (Germans; Japanese; Italians; Chinese; Jews; Indians) around the world. The picture Thomas Sowell paints about these groups spans across centuries and gives you an idea about how they were viewed and treated by their host nations, how they contributed to their respective societies, and lets you draw conclusions about migration patterns, the role of migration in a country's industry, economy, demographics, politics, and so on.
I was mainly interested in the migration aspect of the book rather than the ethno-specific history of things, but it turns out that Thomas Sowell can write an interesting book, and offer an interesting narrative even about the history aspect that I wasn't looking forward to that much.
As always, the writer is not afraid of pissing off the politically correct crows with lines like these:
"It may sound noble to say that cultures are merely different, not better or worse in any way, and that it is all a matter of perceptions and preferences. But this argument contradicts itself by saying that one way of looking at cultural differences is better—the way of cultural relativism preferred by a fringe of contemporary intellectuals, rather than the way preferred by the vast majority of other human beings around the world and down through the centuries."
or
"The very possibility that these disparities might be due to cultural differences affecting behavior and attitudes, or to differences in the human capital brought into the workplace, rather than to the behavior of the larger society, received no attention whatever, either in this statement or in much of the media or the academic world. Yet, when all this was being said, black American married couples with college degrees were at the same income level as white American married couples with college degrees.49 Even a quarter of a century earlier, black males raised in homes with books and library cards were at the same income level as white males raised in homes with similar advantages and similar education."
And backs the whole thing up by a trove of citations and research. There are EXACTLY 110 (as in, a hundred and ten) pages of citations to other pieces of literature, making each chapter supported by hundreds of citations.
Thomas Sowell is a boss.
I was mainly interested in the migration aspect of the book rather than the ethno-specific history of things, but it turns out that Thomas Sowell can write an interesting book, and offer an interesting narrative even about the history aspect that I wasn't looking forward to that much.
As always, the writer is not afraid of pissing off the politically correct crows with lines like these:
"It may sound noble to say that cultures are merely different, not better or worse in any way, and that it is all a matter of perceptions and preferences. But this argument contradicts itself by saying that one way of looking at cultural differences is better—the way of cultural relativism preferred by a fringe of contemporary intellectuals, rather than the way preferred by the vast majority of other human beings around the world and down through the centuries."
or
"The very possibility that these disparities might be due to cultural differences affecting behavior and attitudes, or to differences in the human capital brought into the workplace, rather than to the behavior of the larger society, received no attention whatever, either in this statement or in much of the media or the academic world. Yet, when all this was being said, black American married couples with college degrees were at the same income level as white American married couples with college degrees.49 Even a quarter of a century earlier, black males raised in homes with books and library cards were at the same income level as white males raised in homes with similar advantages and similar education."
And backs the whole thing up by a trove of citations and research. There are EXACTLY 110 (as in, a hundred and ten) pages of citations to other pieces of literature, making each chapter supported by hundreds of citations.
Thomas Sowell is a boss.
August 27, 2020
This book explores the question of migrations and its factors and impacts. The book followed the histories of a dozen of great people known for their migrating movements, namely the Chinese, Indians, Germans and Italians. Again and again the book shows despite each race’s respective unique history, there are real patterns of behavior that persists even after migration. This shows that migrations is not merely a movement of bodies, but also a transfer of human knowledge, experience and technology.
February 23, 2024
This book is a masterpiece that provides a deep understanding of how migration has shaped the world we live in today. Sowell's thorough research and compelling analysis shed light on the cultural, economic, and social impacts of migrations throughout history. His writing is engaging and thought-provoking, making this book a captivating read for anyone interested in the complexities of human migration. I highly recommend "Migrations and Cultures" to anyone seeking a deeper insight into the forces that have shaped our diverse societies.
April 30, 2022
Cultures that succeed have values ingrained to overcome obstacles through sacrifice and hard work. Sowell shows how immigrants without money can become successful because of the cultural values that are evident especially when native people have the same opportunity or better to thrive and yet do not. Culture is of high importance to later success.
April 16, 2011
Thomas Sowell knows why races and cultures are the way they are. This is a "big picture" book, mind-expanding, horizon-broadening, and all that. Fascinating book with lots of detail.
January 16, 2019
Nobody comes even close to Thomas Sowell in his discipline, objectivity, depth of research, clarity, subtle humour and restraint when he mocks other academics, insight and density of ideas. Not in my experience anyway. He doesn't go into rants or continually return to pet theories. He drowns you in facts. But not just random facts, he gives you the big picture broken down into understandable chunks so you actually get a sense of the world and its peoples throughout history (specifically in the context of migrations and what happens before and after).
He gives a lot of specific information but you also sense that it's all part of something wider. Having said that, he never implies any kind of black-and-white pattern, but rather that common threads exist.
Unlike many vocal intellectuals in the US in recent decades, Sowell is not content to look at black and white people in one country. He follows the history of Jews, Italians, Germans, the Japanese, Indians all around the world for hundreds of years. The political left's obsession with racism, sexism and discrimination as the sole possible explanations for differences between outcomes for groups is left embarrassed by Sowell's expansive research - by reality. Similarly, those who might turn to genetics as a way to explain all group differences are also proven wrong by a cascade of counterexamples.
Note that it was progressives and later national socialists and fascists who took the idea of genetic superiority and ran with it. It has been classical liberals, libertarians and the political right who consistently believe all individuals should be free and have the opportunity to make something of themselves. The right are social Darwinists, the left are social engineers and that engineering always means legal discrimination, sometimes including mass murder.
One common pattern is of an immigrant population being hard working, willing to work for less, becoming successful and then attracting jealousy or anger from the local people. This is followed by political attempts to suppress the immigrants, with minimum wage laws, affirmative action (quotas), massacres, expulsions or other methods. Some laws may be circumvented, which often leads to an escalation to more drastic measures. At this point, the economy usually collapses because (surprise, surprise) the immigrants were in fact doing a good job and adding wealth to the economy. In one case, maybe 19th century Western Europe (there's a lot to try to follow and remember), Jews were expelled because they apparently charged too much interest. Once they had gone, people complained that the Christian replacements charged even more! It never seemed to occur to the people to ask "compared to what" before grabbing their pitchforks.
Even after such policies prove disastrous for immigrants and locals alike, rarely is this admitted or learned from and we see it happen time and again across time and space. The exact same rhetoric is common today - with white males as the scapegoats for the political left. Nevertheless, the persecuted minority might be invited back to try to undo the damage - this offer is not always taken and certainly not without hesitation.
It's very interesting to note that explicit legal discrimination against groups works very effectively in gov't, but far less effectively in private business or things which are in-between like higher education. Even with the rules stacked against them, many immigrant groups still perform well above the average at university and in business but although they may better qualify for gov't positions, those are usually dominated by the politically powerful majority. This is unsurprising since gov't can afford to discriminate at tax-payer expense while private enterprises have things like profits and losses to worry about.
Not all immigrant groups do well though, the Indians in Guyana for example, if I remember correctly. Also, different social groups tend to specialise in different fields, for the very tame reason that they have accumulated different skills and interest historically and take that with them wherever they migrate. A famous example is Kenyans winning marathons like nobody's business. Many of the best beer brewing and piano making companies around the world were owned by people of German ancestry. I cannot remember many other specific examples, but the rule rather than the exception appears to be to find groups dominating particular fields wherever they go.
Sowell has no apparent agenda other than to lay out a thorough observation of the actual results we see in the real world as groups migrate and live among each-other. He is very disciplined in the sense of keeping commentary and speculation to a minimum and leaving much of the conclusions to be drawn, if any, to the reader. His final summary is modest, focusing more on dispelling ideas which are clearly wrong than on reaching some simple, ultimate theory of his own. But roughly speaking, his thesis (and mine) would be something like these two paragraphs:
Humans in different places and times develop different cultures (skills, values, behaviours, etc) depending on their surroundings. Geography plays a significant role in this, for example, explaining why Africa has been slower to develop than Western Europe (less navigable waterways among other things). Societies sometimes interact and may adopt things from other cultures to better survive and thrive. They sometimes choose (or are forced to) migrate and rarely have similar skills to the people where they arrive. As a result, they tend to specialise in what they're best at and dominate in those areas. Political efforts often arise to "fix" this situation, making things worse economically for everyone and often leading to blood shed. Theories which try to attribute differences solely to genes or to discrimination fall apart in the face of too many blatant exceptions.
If anything stands out, it's the incredible ability of humans to do well in all kinds of situations, to learn new things rapidly, to live peacefully with others and to both maintain separate cultures over long periods of time or mix with new ones. It's also clear that political "solutions" and passionate leaders who focus on group differences and grievances can stir up hatred and cause economic and social disasters in very short periods of time. Free markets have consistently led to the fastest improvements in living conditions and least social tensions.
There's a lot to learn from history and reading this book is a good starting point.
He gives a lot of specific information but you also sense that it's all part of something wider. Having said that, he never implies any kind of black-and-white pattern, but rather that common threads exist.
Unlike many vocal intellectuals in the US in recent decades, Sowell is not content to look at black and white people in one country. He follows the history of Jews, Italians, Germans, the Japanese, Indians all around the world for hundreds of years. The political left's obsession with racism, sexism and discrimination as the sole possible explanations for differences between outcomes for groups is left embarrassed by Sowell's expansive research - by reality. Similarly, those who might turn to genetics as a way to explain all group differences are also proven wrong by a cascade of counterexamples.
Note that it was progressives and later national socialists and fascists who took the idea of genetic superiority and ran with it. It has been classical liberals, libertarians and the political right who consistently believe all individuals should be free and have the opportunity to make something of themselves. The right are social Darwinists, the left are social engineers and that engineering always means legal discrimination, sometimes including mass murder.
One common pattern is of an immigrant population being hard working, willing to work for less, becoming successful and then attracting jealousy or anger from the local people. This is followed by political attempts to suppress the immigrants, with minimum wage laws, affirmative action (quotas), massacres, expulsions or other methods. Some laws may be circumvented, which often leads to an escalation to more drastic measures. At this point, the economy usually collapses because (surprise, surprise) the immigrants were in fact doing a good job and adding wealth to the economy. In one case, maybe 19th century Western Europe (there's a lot to try to follow and remember), Jews were expelled because they apparently charged too much interest. Once they had gone, people complained that the Christian replacements charged even more! It never seemed to occur to the people to ask "compared to what" before grabbing their pitchforks.
Even after such policies prove disastrous for immigrants and locals alike, rarely is this admitted or learned from and we see it happen time and again across time and space. The exact same rhetoric is common today - with white males as the scapegoats for the political left. Nevertheless, the persecuted minority might be invited back to try to undo the damage - this offer is not always taken and certainly not without hesitation.
It's very interesting to note that explicit legal discrimination against groups works very effectively in gov't, but far less effectively in private business or things which are in-between like higher education. Even with the rules stacked against them, many immigrant groups still perform well above the average at university and in business but although they may better qualify for gov't positions, those are usually dominated by the politically powerful majority. This is unsurprising since gov't can afford to discriminate at tax-payer expense while private enterprises have things like profits and losses to worry about.
Not all immigrant groups do well though, the Indians in Guyana for example, if I remember correctly. Also, different social groups tend to specialise in different fields, for the very tame reason that they have accumulated different skills and interest historically and take that with them wherever they migrate. A famous example is Kenyans winning marathons like nobody's business. Many of the best beer brewing and piano making companies around the world were owned by people of German ancestry. I cannot remember many other specific examples, but the rule rather than the exception appears to be to find groups dominating particular fields wherever they go.
Sowell has no apparent agenda other than to lay out a thorough observation of the actual results we see in the real world as groups migrate and live among each-other. He is very disciplined in the sense of keeping commentary and speculation to a minimum and leaving much of the conclusions to be drawn, if any, to the reader. His final summary is modest, focusing more on dispelling ideas which are clearly wrong than on reaching some simple, ultimate theory of his own. But roughly speaking, his thesis (and mine) would be something like these two paragraphs:
Humans in different places and times develop different cultures (skills, values, behaviours, etc) depending on their surroundings. Geography plays a significant role in this, for example, explaining why Africa has been slower to develop than Western Europe (less navigable waterways among other things). Societies sometimes interact and may adopt things from other cultures to better survive and thrive. They sometimes choose (or are forced to) migrate and rarely have similar skills to the people where they arrive. As a result, they tend to specialise in what they're best at and dominate in those areas. Political efforts often arise to "fix" this situation, making things worse economically for everyone and often leading to blood shed. Theories which try to attribute differences solely to genes or to discrimination fall apart in the face of too many blatant exceptions.
If anything stands out, it's the incredible ability of humans to do well in all kinds of situations, to learn new things rapidly, to live peacefully with others and to both maintain separate cultures over long periods of time or mix with new ones. It's also clear that political "solutions" and passionate leaders who focus on group differences and grievances can stir up hatred and cause economic and social disasters in very short periods of time. Free markets have consistently led to the fastest improvements in living conditions and least social tensions.
There's a lot to learn from history and reading this book is a good starting point.
March 16, 2023
This book is a wealth of information from a whole lot of research. Exploring the experiences of a dozen different immigrant groups abroad, Sowell dives into objective history in order to make observations about migrations of people. Incredibly eye opening and relevant today.
June 16, 2024
SOWELL TAKES A “WORLDWIDE” FOCUS ON IMMIGRANTS OF ALL KINDS
Thomas Sowell (born 1930) is an economist, columnist, and author who has long been associated with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1996 book, “This book [is] about the odyssey of peoples… This has been an odyssey for the author as well… a series of journeys that took me to 15 countries on four continents… Much of the data, literature, and expertise available in these countries was… virtually impossible to get while staying at home. Seeing the many peoples themselves… often made their economic differences something that required no esoteric or sinister theories to explain… The purpose of this book is, quite simple, that we should know what we are talking about when we talk about peoples and their cultures.” He also acknowledges, “the cost of the study that led to this book could not have been less than half a million dollars and might well have been twice that much. So my pride in which was accomplished must be tempered by a realization that very few other people have had an opportunity to do the same.”
He explains, “Migrations tend to be selective, rather than random, in terms of skills and ambition, as well as in origins and destinations. The immigrant population from a given country living in another country is often highly atypical of the population in the country from which they came… Not only do immigrants often differ from the general populations of the respective countries from which they come, this selective migration is differently selective from one country to another.” (Pg. 4-5)
He observes, “geographical influences cut across national borders and racial lines, producing similar effects in different countries and different effects in various regions of the same country or among culturally different members of the same race. This is not to say that there are no national cultural differences. Clearly there are. Language, religion, and political traditions are just some of the cultural values holding together nations composed of peoples subjected to disparate other influences. The point here is simply that a recognition of distinct cultural patterns, whether originating in geography, history, or otherwise, is not the same as a belief in ‘national character’ of ‘racial traits.’ These things may overlap or even be congruent in some cases, but they may also be quite separate.” (Pg. 15)
He points out, “While Germans abroad have been notable for their loyalty to the respective countries in which they settled, they have nevertheless suffered from Germany’s actions in two world wars… The horrors of Hitler and the Nazis continued to be associated with Germany and with Germans, long after World War II, reducing the world influence of the economically vibrant West German nation, even after the passing decades produced a German population largely born since the end of the Nazi era, including increasingly people whose PARENTS had not yet been born at the time of Hitler. However, decades of peaceful coexistence and the development of democratic traditions in West Germany eventually allayed the fears of surrounding nations sufficiently to lead to widespread international acceptance of a reunited Germany in 1990. In the long view of history, few peoples have made such cultural and economic contributions to so many lands in so many parts of the planet as Germans.” (Pg. 104)
He notes, “The United States, as the country powerful enough to break through Japan’s historic isolation, was a special focus of Japanese attention. The American way of life was praised by Japanese leaders and intellectuals of the Meiji era, the United States was depicted as a benefactor to Japan by ending its isolation and government-issues textbooks held up Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin as models to be imitated, even more so than Japanese heroes. English was introduced into Japanese secondary schools in 1876… Euphoric descriptions of the United States as an earthly paradise’ were part of the general depiction of Western peoples and nations as enviable, beautiful, and great.” (Pg. 109) Later, he adds, “The rise of the Japanese in country after country, from their initial role as low-paid, unskilled laborers to middle-class occupations in the second and later generations, has implications … The methods and nature of their rise challenge widely held beliefs as to the historical causes or contemporary prospects for advancing poorer racial or ethnic minorities.” (Pg. 137)
He states, “As workmen, Italians were noted for their diligence and sobriety---the latter often contrasted with the drinking of the Irish—but also for a lack of initiative that required them to have considerable supervision. The pattern … was consistent with the docility expected of workers in Italy. Child labor was another Italian pattern brough over from the homeland and it often interfered with, or even prevented, schooling.” (Pg. 164)
He comments, “Although it may seem paradoxical that the Chinese generally prosper in other countries, where they have historically been subjected to both sweeping discrimination and sporadic mob violence, but remain very poor in China, that is nevertheless the case. Per capita income in China in the late twentieth century was less than half that of Taiwan, and less than one-seventh that of Singapore… On the world scene, China remained one of the poorest nations---after having once been the richest.” (Pg. 181)
He notes, “The development of family life was decisive for the future of Chinatowns and of the Chinese American population… Chinatowns now began to become known as places with far lower crime rates than American cities as a whole. Other factors also worked to improve the situation of Chinese Americans. Their withdrawal from direct competition with whites made it impossible for the anti-Chinese animosity of earlier years to be maintained at the same emotional pitch. Moreover, as Chinatowns changed from being crime-ridden, drug-ridden places, and became quite and colorful tourist attractions, the image as well as the incomes of the Chinese benefitted. Finally, the well-behaved and academically conscientious Chinese children were welcomed by public school teachers. Americans in general also became more sympathetic to China after Japan invaded it in the 1930s, and especially after the United States and China became allies during the Second World War.” (Pg. 225-226)
He says, “Neither the economic level not the occupational skills of the Jewish immigrants who arrived in the United States during the mass immigration era were the same as those of the existing American Jewish population. However, the newcomers had more skills than many other immigrant groups of the time. Rarely were these professional skills but seldom were the Eastern European Jews unskilled laborers. They had a variety of artisan skills, many associated with clothing and related fields such as shoemaking.” (Pg. 297)
He argues, "Widely varying amounts and kinds or cultural capital make economic and social disparities among groups and nations virtually inevitable. Yet the political temptation is to overlook the causal influences of differences in cultural capital… and, instead, to attribute these disparities to current failures of society… The very possibility that these disparities might be due to cultural differences affecting behavior and attitudes … received no attention whatever…. In much of the media or the academic world. Yet, then all this was being said, black American married couples with college degrees were at the same income level as white American married couples with college degrees… infant mortality rates among black intact families were lower than among white female-headed families, even when those white females had more education than black females living with their husbands. In short, life-style differences have had major impacts on social misfortunes---though only minor impact on much thinking about those misfortunes.” (Pg. 382-383)
He concludes, “The history of immigration … is an important part of the history of the advancement of the human race. The causes and consequences of immigration remain relevant for the present and future, ever where mass immigration itself is no longer an urgent priority for the recipient countries…. The history of immigrants who began in poverty and achieved prosperity, while at the same time advancing the economic level of the society around them, brings into sharper focus the importance of CREATING wealth, especially important when so many are preoccupied with its distribution. Such immigrants have left a legacy not only of economic examples but also of human inspiration.” (Pg. 391)
This book will be of great interest to those who enjoy Sowell’s other books.
Thomas Sowell (born 1930) is an economist, columnist, and author who has long been associated with the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.
He wrote in the Preface to this 1996 book, “This book [is] about the odyssey of peoples… This has been an odyssey for the author as well… a series of journeys that took me to 15 countries on four continents… Much of the data, literature, and expertise available in these countries was… virtually impossible to get while staying at home. Seeing the many peoples themselves… often made their economic differences something that required no esoteric or sinister theories to explain… The purpose of this book is, quite simple, that we should know what we are talking about when we talk about peoples and their cultures.” He also acknowledges, “the cost of the study that led to this book could not have been less than half a million dollars and might well have been twice that much. So my pride in which was accomplished must be tempered by a realization that very few other people have had an opportunity to do the same.”
He explains, “Migrations tend to be selective, rather than random, in terms of skills and ambition, as well as in origins and destinations. The immigrant population from a given country living in another country is often highly atypical of the population in the country from which they came… Not only do immigrants often differ from the general populations of the respective countries from which they come, this selective migration is differently selective from one country to another.” (Pg. 4-5)
He observes, “geographical influences cut across national borders and racial lines, producing similar effects in different countries and different effects in various regions of the same country or among culturally different members of the same race. This is not to say that there are no national cultural differences. Clearly there are. Language, religion, and political traditions are just some of the cultural values holding together nations composed of peoples subjected to disparate other influences. The point here is simply that a recognition of distinct cultural patterns, whether originating in geography, history, or otherwise, is not the same as a belief in ‘national character’ of ‘racial traits.’ These things may overlap or even be congruent in some cases, but they may also be quite separate.” (Pg. 15)
He points out, “While Germans abroad have been notable for their loyalty to the respective countries in which they settled, they have nevertheless suffered from Germany’s actions in two world wars… The horrors of Hitler and the Nazis continued to be associated with Germany and with Germans, long after World War II, reducing the world influence of the economically vibrant West German nation, even after the passing decades produced a German population largely born since the end of the Nazi era, including increasingly people whose PARENTS had not yet been born at the time of Hitler. However, decades of peaceful coexistence and the development of democratic traditions in West Germany eventually allayed the fears of surrounding nations sufficiently to lead to widespread international acceptance of a reunited Germany in 1990. In the long view of history, few peoples have made such cultural and economic contributions to so many lands in so many parts of the planet as Germans.” (Pg. 104)
He notes, “The United States, as the country powerful enough to break through Japan’s historic isolation, was a special focus of Japanese attention. The American way of life was praised by Japanese leaders and intellectuals of the Meiji era, the United States was depicted as a benefactor to Japan by ending its isolation and government-issues textbooks held up Abraham Lincoln and Benjamin Franklin as models to be imitated, even more so than Japanese heroes. English was introduced into Japanese secondary schools in 1876… Euphoric descriptions of the United States as an earthly paradise’ were part of the general depiction of Western peoples and nations as enviable, beautiful, and great.” (Pg. 109) Later, he adds, “The rise of the Japanese in country after country, from their initial role as low-paid, unskilled laborers to middle-class occupations in the second and later generations, has implications … The methods and nature of their rise challenge widely held beliefs as to the historical causes or contemporary prospects for advancing poorer racial or ethnic minorities.” (Pg. 137)
He states, “As workmen, Italians were noted for their diligence and sobriety---the latter often contrasted with the drinking of the Irish—but also for a lack of initiative that required them to have considerable supervision. The pattern … was consistent with the docility expected of workers in Italy. Child labor was another Italian pattern brough over from the homeland and it often interfered with, or even prevented, schooling.” (Pg. 164)
He comments, “Although it may seem paradoxical that the Chinese generally prosper in other countries, where they have historically been subjected to both sweeping discrimination and sporadic mob violence, but remain very poor in China, that is nevertheless the case. Per capita income in China in the late twentieth century was less than half that of Taiwan, and less than one-seventh that of Singapore… On the world scene, China remained one of the poorest nations---after having once been the richest.” (Pg. 181)
He notes, “The development of family life was decisive for the future of Chinatowns and of the Chinese American population… Chinatowns now began to become known as places with far lower crime rates than American cities as a whole. Other factors also worked to improve the situation of Chinese Americans. Their withdrawal from direct competition with whites made it impossible for the anti-Chinese animosity of earlier years to be maintained at the same emotional pitch. Moreover, as Chinatowns changed from being crime-ridden, drug-ridden places, and became quite and colorful tourist attractions, the image as well as the incomes of the Chinese benefitted. Finally, the well-behaved and academically conscientious Chinese children were welcomed by public school teachers. Americans in general also became more sympathetic to China after Japan invaded it in the 1930s, and especially after the United States and China became allies during the Second World War.” (Pg. 225-226)
He says, “Neither the economic level not the occupational skills of the Jewish immigrants who arrived in the United States during the mass immigration era were the same as those of the existing American Jewish population. However, the newcomers had more skills than many other immigrant groups of the time. Rarely were these professional skills but seldom were the Eastern European Jews unskilled laborers. They had a variety of artisan skills, many associated with clothing and related fields such as shoemaking.” (Pg. 297)
He argues, "Widely varying amounts and kinds or cultural capital make economic and social disparities among groups and nations virtually inevitable. Yet the political temptation is to overlook the causal influences of differences in cultural capital… and, instead, to attribute these disparities to current failures of society… The very possibility that these disparities might be due to cultural differences affecting behavior and attitudes … received no attention whatever…. In much of the media or the academic world. Yet, then all this was being said, black American married couples with college degrees were at the same income level as white American married couples with college degrees… infant mortality rates among black intact families were lower than among white female-headed families, even when those white females had more education than black females living with their husbands. In short, life-style differences have had major impacts on social misfortunes---though only minor impact on much thinking about those misfortunes.” (Pg. 382-383)
He concludes, “The history of immigration … is an important part of the history of the advancement of the human race. The causes and consequences of immigration remain relevant for the present and future, ever where mass immigration itself is no longer an urgent priority for the recipient countries…. The history of immigrants who began in poverty and achieved prosperity, while at the same time advancing the economic level of the society around them, brings into sharper focus the importance of CREATING wealth, especially important when so many are preoccupied with its distribution. Such immigrants have left a legacy not only of economic examples but also of human inspiration.” (Pg. 391)
This book will be of great interest to those who enjoy Sowell’s other books.
April 17, 2011
The second book in the Race, Migrations, Conquests and Cultures series, this book focuses on migrations, offering the reader a history of migrations in the history of the world, especially in the modern era. The purpose of the book is not to present a comprehensive history of migrations, however. Its purpose if to present the different causes of migration, their patterns and their commonalities, all with a reference to the cultures of the peoples involved. The differences and similarities between several, though not all, of the most important migration movements are clearly presented and explained. Particularly interesting is the fact that the original culture of the migrating peoples can have lasting repercussions in their performance within the receiving society. As usual, Thomas Sowell himself displays a breathtaking knowledge and culture. His style is very clear and engaging, making the reading (or the listening to the audiobook, as was my case) a real pleasure. Due to my own background, I was disappointed with the lack of a chapter about the migrations of the Portuguese, which is a saga well worth telling. I guess I will have to wait for someone with Sowell's talent to write it. I think I will have to wait a long, long time.
December 12, 2021
Great history and great thinking delivered in crystal-clear prose.
The narrative follows the history of migrations and their outcomes over modern history for a number of disparate cultural groups: Germans, Japanese, Jews, Overseas Chinese, Italians, and Overseas Indians.
I found the overall narrative, laced with facts/figures but telling the broad story, to be compelling and informative. Thomas Sowell is truly a first-rate intellect, as one would expect from someone with several decades of tenure at Stanford and other institutions.
What I enjoyed was learning interesting angles on history and historical events that came out of and were driven by migrations of people. Part of the wealth surplus in Spain that enabled royalty to invest in exploring R&D by funding Columbus in 1492 came from the massive wealth confiscated from the Jews expelled from the country in previous decades; many of those same Jews became important elements for the Ottomon Empire. German enclaves mistreated badly in 19th-century Russia drove much of the emigration into the US. Germans brought bowling, among other things. Indentured Indian laborers in the British Empire had a profound effect on many countries, including a long history and large population in Fiji. And so on and so on.
The narrative follows the history of migrations and their outcomes over modern history for a number of disparate cultural groups: Germans, Japanese, Jews, Overseas Chinese, Italians, and Overseas Indians.
I found the overall narrative, laced with facts/figures but telling the broad story, to be compelling and informative. Thomas Sowell is truly a first-rate intellect, as one would expect from someone with several decades of tenure at Stanford and other institutions.
What I enjoyed was learning interesting angles on history and historical events that came out of and were driven by migrations of people. Part of the wealth surplus in Spain that enabled royalty to invest in exploring R&D by funding Columbus in 1492 came from the massive wealth confiscated from the Jews expelled from the country in previous decades; many of those same Jews became important elements for the Ottomon Empire. German enclaves mistreated badly in 19th-century Russia drove much of the emigration into the US. Germans brought bowling, among other things. Indentured Indian laborers in the British Empire had a profound effect on many countries, including a long history and large population in Fiji. And so on and so on.
July 6, 2017
There are many reasons that people migrate, better climate, better lives for their families, better jobs, or as refugees. What seems to be a recurring theme is that there is a certain amount of entrepreneurship in those who chose to migrate and a willingness to make it work once they arrive. They migrate to improve their lot so their capacity to work long and hard is expected. In many cases, however, the local population is carrying on with business as usual and are upstaged by the hungry new interlopers who are killing the prevailing work ethic. This makes the locals resent the newcomers as the migrants have a plan to stay and thrive. Overall, everyone benefits (over time) when the cultures merge and thrive together to become an inclusive society that share the best each has to offer.
January 26, 2013
Thomas Sowell does an amazing job of demonstrating clearly the effect of the culture of a people on themselves, on the region where they live, in the country of their origin, as well as in countries that may welcome them when they migrate. Reading this book will widen and deepen your understanding of the world.
December 30, 2014
A very insightful read into the migration patterns of nationalities around the globe and how the have impacted our every day lives. Dowelling digs into the second and subsequent generational career domination a such as Jews who make up 1% of the population in some countries but make up over 90% of the lawyers. Fascinating read.
September 3, 2015
Migrations and Cultures offers the same evidence and arguments Sowell has used in his previous works. However, this time with emphasis on the Indians too which was rather interesting.
The most important message is that good immigrants can bring prosperity to their new host countries, discrimination and prosecution only lead to disaster economically.
The most important message is that good immigrants can bring prosperity to their new host countries, discrimination and prosecution only lead to disaster economically.
September 4, 2017
Chapters on 6 different immigrant groups are filled with facts and have a section at the end of each that summarizes. The last chapter in the book relates trends seen with contemporary society. The book is 20 years old, but the arguments and conclusions are quite relevant today. Well worth reading.
Want to read
June 27, 2018Previous work becomes contemporary as immigration is being debated throughout the West. I want to read what I have heard to be Sowell's brilliant thinking on these topics.
For Book 3 of Sowell's Culture series, see....
Conquests & Cultures, Sowell, 1999
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For Book 3 of Sowell's Culture series, see....
Conquests & Cultures, Sowell, 1999
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
October 28, 2018
As far as books from the 1990's go, the summary in the last chapter is incredibly prescient: history is an anchor in reality; differences among groups are the norm not the exception; people have never been cultural relativists in practice, etc.
Also, as a Vancouverite, I never knew half of the history of Japanese immigrants in BC.
Also, as a Vancouverite, I never knew half of the history of Japanese immigrants in BC.
June 29, 2020
What is very clear from this fact-filled book is that the most common cause of societal advancement by a group is its culture — the attitudes, behaviors, skills, and approaches to life. Often this advancement has happened in the face of active discrimination, and a common feature of these resilient cultures is that they have sought solutions from within rather than political solutions.
May 22, 2021
Part 2 of an excellent 3 part series.
I write this review after listening to all three. If you want a comprehensive history or peoples, cultures, races and other topics that is well researched by a man who travelled to world to track down the information then this is the series for you.
I write this review after listening to all three. If you want a comprehensive history or peoples, cultures, races and other topics that is well researched by a man who travelled to world to track down the information then this is the series for you.
May 29, 2017
Powerful. This book changed my thinking on immigration by about 175 degrees.
June 13, 2020
Fascinating information and ideas, but a tad repetitive.
September 20, 2017
Excellent. Sometimes his quoting of data slowed me down, but he supports what he writes.
October 24, 2017
An incredibly deep and timeless study of migration and cultural patterns.
May 19, 2021
Great Read, I love how the history of migration can be used to look at today's circumstances.
December 15, 2021
Great! 10/10
March 30, 2019
the combination of lax immigration laws, welfare state benefits and schemes to keep foreigners foreign are leading to potentially explosive conflicts. (p. 388)
Unfortunately this quote comes from the conclusion and not the introduction. The title should be more specific, because the book does not focus on migrations in general but rather the very specific and successful migrations of six groups: Germans, Japanese, Italians, Chinese, Jews and Indians. It is more a history book of successful migrants rather than an analysis of the mass migration the world is now facing.
What these six groups have in common with each other is that all of the groups in general experienced meteoric rises in wealth, mostly due to being "migrant middle men", ie. finding an economic niche in business after (frequently) beginning in very desparate situations. And quite apart from political success or even general acceptance from the local/indigenous population.
Additionally, the groups all in general migrated to various locations in the 19th century era of great migrations, before the advent on much mechanisation, modern transportation and the welfare state. That is, their journeys were difficult, dangerous and with nothing awaiting them upon their arrival at their destination apart from raw opportunity.
The book, as all of Thomas Sowell's books, includes a great amount of information, excellent illustrative examples and paints a general picture, notes general trends, but also makes the necessary distinctions within the migrant groups and the destinations. For example, 'the Germans' as a migrant group includes the migrants to the United States, Argentina and even Russia; but more importantly distinguishes between the Mennonite farmers and the Rhineland artisans. Northern and Southern Italians to USA, Brasil, Argentina and Australia, Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews etc.
One area of slight critique is that the book bounces around chronologically. It is not rare to read a page where Professor Sowell discusses events and statistics as follows (I just chose a random page, one with plenty of dates: page 193): "as early as 1794...in 1881...By 1947...By 1941...By 1931...in 1911...by 1931." Overall the tread is maintained but something of the drama of the people is lost as the chronology is warped in order to maintain a thematic organisation.
Though not a critique, I initially thought the book would be more general about immigration (especially considering the massive immigration occuring in the United States from Latin America or in Europe from Africa and the Middle East). The book does not deal with this mass movement of people except in the errily prescient conclusion "History and Cultures" (written in 1996!) which is rather disconnected from the body of the book. I can not think of a better conclusion, but it seems to be for another book. One page (388) is worth quoting nearly in full:
Buy it and read it, if only for the conclusion. Or rather, make the conclusion required reading for every undergrad student.
Unfortunately this quote comes from the conclusion and not the introduction. The title should be more specific, because the book does not focus on migrations in general but rather the very specific and successful migrations of six groups: Germans, Japanese, Italians, Chinese, Jews and Indians. It is more a history book of successful migrants rather than an analysis of the mass migration the world is now facing.
What these six groups have in common with each other is that all of the groups in general experienced meteoric rises in wealth, mostly due to being "migrant middle men", ie. finding an economic niche in business after (frequently) beginning in very desparate situations. And quite apart from political success or even general acceptance from the local/indigenous population.
Additionally, the groups all in general migrated to various locations in the 19th century era of great migrations, before the advent on much mechanisation, modern transportation and the welfare state. That is, their journeys were difficult, dangerous and with nothing awaiting them upon their arrival at their destination apart from raw opportunity.
The book, as all of Thomas Sowell's books, includes a great amount of information, excellent illustrative examples and paints a general picture, notes general trends, but also makes the necessary distinctions within the migrant groups and the destinations. For example, 'the Germans' as a migrant group includes the migrants to the United States, Argentina and even Russia; but more importantly distinguishes between the Mennonite farmers and the Rhineland artisans. Northern and Southern Italians to USA, Brasil, Argentina and Australia, Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews etc.
One area of slight critique is that the book bounces around chronologically. It is not rare to read a page where Professor Sowell discusses events and statistics as follows (I just chose a random page, one with plenty of dates: page 193): "as early as 1794...in 1881...By 1947...By 1941...By 1931...in 1911...by 1931." Overall the tread is maintained but something of the drama of the people is lost as the chronology is warped in order to maintain a thematic organisation.
Though not a critique, I initially thought the book would be more general about immigration (especially considering the massive immigration occuring in the United States from Latin America or in Europe from Africa and the Middle East). The book does not deal with this mass movement of people except in the errily prescient conclusion "History and Cultures" (written in 1996!) which is rather disconnected from the body of the book. I can not think of a better conclusion, but it seems to be for another book. One page (388) is worth quoting nearly in full:
Government-provided benefits in general have made immigrants more costly to absorb, quite aside from the question whether they cause more immigrants to come, or reduce the selectivity of the immigrant population by including many without the initiative or ambition of those who immigrated when there was little or no help available from the government. Anti-immigrant feelings and movements have grown in the welfare states of Western Europe and the United States...the combination of lax immigration laws, welfare state benefits and schemes to keep foreigners foreign are leading to potentially explosive conflicts.
These social conflicts may be especially tragic in an era where persecution and armed conflicts around the world are producing vast numbers of refugees seeking asylum but discovering that such asylum is increasingly difficult to find. The human tragedies caused by turning away desperate people from borders are made doubly tragic when much of the opposition comes not simply from objections to the immigrants themselves but also from objections to the social and political agendas being promoted by ideologues who use the immigrants as part of their general opposition to the values and traditions of their own society.
Buy it and read it, if only for the conclusion. Or rather, make the conclusion required reading for every undergrad student.
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