The subtitle is Populism,
Immigration, and the Future of White Majorities and the author is Eric
Kaufmann (2019).
An interesting topic that the author covers. His view is that white ethnicity, as a
political topic, must be given air for discussion in polite company without
accusations of racism automatically flying back. The rise of Trump, Brexit, and populism
generally, are the result of immigration and the discomfort that it causes for
white majorities. Without an ability to
talk about the issues that it creates, without being allowed to express the
concerns about losing some element of the national culture because of rapid demographic
changes, the conversation gets couched in state interest terms and engenders
movements and solutions which only exacerbate stress points. In other words, discussion about economics and
being left behind, or national security and increased crime due to the growth
of out-groups, is really cover for the concern about immigration at a rapid
pace. That topic, in and of itself, does
not have to be racist. But, given social
norms and growth of neoliberalism in elite circles, any allusion to the issue
is immediately met with insults and claims of deviance. Ergo, the growth of movements that are deemed
xenophobic and parochial.
In Kaufmann’s estimation there is now a mandate for diversity without
any reconciling for how it effects the majority stakeholders in western countries. The inherent contradiction that Kaufmann points
out is how minorities are allowed to take pride in their group and advocate
under that banner. The white majority cannot
do the same and is besmirched as racist if any interest is couched in such
terms. And the irony is how the greatest
defenders of that reality are the cosmopolitan members of the majority. But, as the pendulum swings too far, a voice
will emerge that cares not for political-correctness, thereby validating the unspoken
belief of many citizens and the pushback against certain norms begins. It is why Trump can say as many ridiculous
things as he does, but still maintain his base of support. His base is the group that endures the burden
of rapid ethnic change without any say, and then gets accused of racism when it
objects.
Kaufmann is big on statistical analysis and conducting surveys to
assess viewpoints. An interesting
corollary that he speaks to is how diversity actually acts to “impede the sense
of common fate to facilitate redistribution”.
So, again, ironically, the biggest proponents of unheeded immigration,
who also commonly call for higher taxes and universal health care, ultimately
are creating a cultural and demographic dynamic which prevents such policy
changes from willingly taking hold. The
common refrain from liberals of how one-payer health care in the Scandinavian
countries works, and should be the model for the US, clearly misses that places
like Sweden have highly homogenous populations.
If they were more diverse, it is entirely plausible that they would not
be the beacon to hold up any longer.
Ultimately, Kaufmann believes that a more moderated pace of change,
through more controlled immigration, whereby assimilation, cultural adjustment,
and inter-marriage can occur, in the face of calls for maximalism by positive
liberals, is the answer.
A few final takeaways from the book:
-Kaufmann states the obvious which is often missed: equality of
opportunity is important, while trying to mandate equality of outcome is a doomed
mission.
-The definition of hate speech continues to be expanded as a way to
silence debate. That methodology is
commonly utilized to stifle many areas of potential disagreement, and is the
opposite of the scientific process, ensuring outcomes that will only makes problems
worse. It also prevents any real
measurement of what is serious versus minimal harm.
-It is intuitive and accepted that minorities will vote for politicians
who best represent the interests of their ethnic group – why should such
considerations on the part of majority populations suffer greater agita?
-“Invoking the history of racism
to justify harsher treatment of whites reflects a Hatfield-McCoy theory of
justice that leans on pre-Hobbesian notions of intergenerational culpability,
collective punishment, eternal sin and retributive justice.”
-“…it is a left-modernist conceit
to think that because countries must treat citizens equally without regard to
cultural characteristics they must extend this to non-citizens applying for
citizenship.”
