Them and Us: How immigrants and locals can thrive together

by Philippe Legrain

Immigration is good for society and here's the data that proves it.

Winner of the Diversity, Inclusion and Equality Award at the Business Book Awards 2021

‘Underpinned by scholarship...entertaining…Legrain’s book fizzes with practical ideas.’ The Economist


‘The beauty of diversity is that innovation often comes about by serendipity. As Scott Page observed, one day in 1904, at the World Fair in St Louis, the ice cream vendor ran out of cups. Ernest Hami, a Syrian waffle vendor in the booth next door, rolled up some waffles to make cones – and the rest is history.’

Filled with data, anecdotes and optimism, Them and Us is an endorsement of cultural differences at a time of acute national introspection. By every measure, from productivity to new perspectives, immigrants bring something beneficial to society. If patriotism means wanting the best for your country, we should be welcoming immigrants with open arms.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

320 pages, Hardcover

Published December 1, 2020

Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

Immigration divides our globalizing world like no other issue. We are swamped by illegal immigrants and infiltrated by terrorists, our jobs stolen, our welfare system abused, our way of life destroyed--or so we are told. At a time when National Guard units are deployed alongside vigilante Minutemen on the U.S.-Mexico border, where the death toll in the past decade now exceeds 9/11's, Philippe Legrain has written the first book about immigration that looks beyond the headlines. Why are ever-rising numbers of people from poor countries arriving in the United States, Europe, and Australia? Can we keep them out? Should we even be trying?

Combining compelling firsthand reporting from around the world, incisive socioeconomic analysis, and a broad understanding of what's at stake politically and culturally, Them and Us is a passionate but lucid book. In our open world, more people will inevitably move across borders, Legrain says--and we should generally welcome them. They do the jobs we can't or won't do--and their diversity enriches us all. Left and Right, free marketeers and campaigners for global justice, enlightened patriots--all should rally behind the cause of freer migration, because They need Us and We need Them.

This is an incisive and profoundly thought-provoking read in which Legrain argues rationally about the mutual benefits for both ”Them” and ”Us” to a liberal immigration policy. Given the somewhat irrational crackdown on immigration mainly in the West with Trump and Johnson at the forefront of the move towards stricter policies, this book is more necessary now than ever before. With less than a month to go until Britain leaves the EU, I have often wondered the extent to which we will be affected given the idea of free movement will no longer be adhered to; only time will tell. An accessible, fascinating and seemingly objective book, this is a rich and detailed exploration of migration in our current time and a work I highly recommend.

[Conrad · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard not to get swept away in Philippe Legrain's mix of enthusiasm, personal stories about immigrants and the oceans of evidence he provides. It is unabashedly presenting a pro-immigration narrative, one that is as great as it is was problematic for me. Great in the sense that it broadened my view even though I am familiar with the subject. All the ways immigrants contribute to 'Us' was very informative, and having personal stories present each one makes them stick. Troubling because it takes on a very black and white view of immigration. In short, Legrain states that immigration is great, those against it are simply wrong or mislead, populists are stupid and should be neglected and here are ways you can convince those who are against it to change their mind. It lacks a sense of balance which brought forward a bit of awkwardness in me while reading.

I do understand why Legrain chose to write his book this way: in a world in which immigration has gotten a bad reputation, it us up to us all to change the narrative and this book is a part of it. It may very well be that you like this positive, personal and factual way of writing, but someone looking for more nuance and understanding, this book isn't entirely for you.

[David Margetts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Empty shelves, shortage of products, broken supply chains, unpicked fruit & veg, unwashed 'bums', shortage of nurses and doctors, unbuilt homes and businesses, poor or no service in pubs and restaurants and a drop in student revenue - thanks to Brexit!! Brexit, brought about largely by an anti-immigration backlash, trumpeted by Farage, Johnson, Gove etc and mirrored in the fall of 2016 by The Donald - has started to usher in the expected consequences and challenges of reduced EU immigration and freedom of movement (somewhat disguised by covid) Those halcyon days of hardworking builders and plumbers, bright young people in hospitality, workers prepared and able to do the drudgery which we Brits prefer to avoid, energetic entrepreneurs, and the excellence of the best and the brightest from overseas look a distant past now....as we face mass vacancies in road haulage, agriculture, hospitality and even in Universities....well done Boris!!! (another fine mess...) This excellent book skilfully and proficiently outlines the dividends lost as Brexit has 'turned off' free movement and reduced immigration, illustrating the massive benefits that we have accrued not just in the last 20 years, but for centuries from immigration. Dividends in 'wealth creation', business development, entrepreneurialism, healthy competition, raising of standards, education, skills, knowledge, diversity, dynamism, deftness, the drudgery delegation, tax revenues, demographics etc etc etc. Naturally I am biased, having a Dutch immigrant mother, a Polish wife, a son born in Athens, 18 years of foreign work (yes I too was an immigrant, although my Italian, Greek, Spanish, German, USA and Dutch friends & colleagues preferred to be called ex-pats), yes I have benefited greatly from immigration and emigration, from an open tolerant and dynamic society. yet so have the majority of people in the UK in one way or another. Sadly, our incompetent and impotent opposition parties and our populist and socially conservative government (back benchers) do little to espouse or uphold the benefits we enjoyed or the losses we will face for decades to come. This is an excellent book and should be compulsory reading for the youth in our society, but also more importantly the older less well educated people of 'somewhere vs anywhere'!! My fear is that only a minority of the already converted will read such a book, and an even smaller minority of those opposed to immigration and closed to open fact based arguments, in this polarised post Brexit / Truth world. I guess that the pain may of the poorest in the UK will endure in the coming years may change attitudes, not least with the 'red wall' voters, but will their attitudes soften and allow greater openness to resume, or will they harden and bring forth even greater extremes in the form of the far right? Sobering thoughts.....oh for a different Brexit outcome??

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at how immigrants and natives to live and work together in a productive way. The author, while of French (and other) ancestry, currently lives in Britain, and most of his examples come from this context. He makes a very interesting point in the first chapter, that the British government pursued austerity after the Financial Crisis, but blamed most of the fall out on immigrants (or at least working class Britons did). I thought this was a really interesting point, and was disappointed that he didn't pursue it further. Most of the material in the book was anecdotal, but it did provide a good framework for looking at issues related to immigration.

[Popup-ch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A rosy view of migration, that conveniently overlooks some of the trickier aspects.

As a migrant myself I have thought a lot about these subjects, and while I agree with Legrain that it is in most parts a net positive, I found Paul Collier's book Exodus more thoughtful. Legrain mentions Collier in rather caustic sentiments, but never really refutes his argument that integration is difficult.

The writing is chatty, verging on occasion on the preachy, but overall it is very readable.

[Roland Glotzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thesis of the book that immigration is valuable with an analysis of the many dividends resulting from this is excellent. Also recommendations on how to overcome the bias against Them (the migrants) vs Us (the locals). Unfortunately the number of examples to demonstrate each point are excessive and should maybe have been shown as appendices or footnotes, possibly in tabular form, rather than part of the narrative which became consequently excessively long.

[Ryan Ard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. Legrain does an excellent job presenting economic studies and stories to present why immigration is a win-win for both the immigrant and the local. He presents opponents of immigration's arguments and refutes them with numerous studies. He offers many more arguments that appeal to more than just the moral obligation to help others out. I recommend this book to anyone on the fence about immigration or interested in the current cultural discord on immigration.

[Derek Henderson · Rating 1 out of 5]

While I agree with all of Legrain's arguments, he is, unfortunately, an absolutely dull polemicist. This is a good book for insomniacs.