Mass Migration: Difference between revisions

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''Written by AI. Help improve this answer by adding to the sources section. When the sources section is updated this article will regenerate.''

'''Causes of ~~Mass Migration~~ to Western ~~Nations~~'''

'''Causes of mass migration to Western nations'''

~~Mass migration into~~ North ~~America~~, ~~Western Europe~~ and ~~Oceania~~ in the ~~late~~-~~20th~~ and ~~early~~-~~21st centuries is usually explained through~~ a ~~combination of economic~~, ~~political~~ and ~~demographic factors~~. ~~Main drivers include:~~

* Economic differentials. Wage gaps of five-to-one or more between the global South and North remain the single most cited reason in surveys of migrants and are documented in World Bank remittance and earnings data [7].

* Demographic pull. Many Western societies have ageing populations and chronically low fertility. Governments therefore look to immigration to support labour-force size, pension systems and tax bases [4][5].

* Political instability and conflict in sending regions. UN DESA counts a tripling of forcibly displaced persons since 2010, with most seeking refuge in richer states that can process asylum claims [8].

* Liberalisation of immigration law. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished national-origin quotas, opening the country to new source regions [4]; Canada’s 1976 Act created a points system that explicitly encouraged family unification and economic migrants [5]; Australia dismantled the White Australia Policy between 1966 and 1973, ending racial exclusions [6].

* Cheaper transport and instant communication allow would-be migrants to organise journeys and receive real-time labour-market information [8].

* Post-colonial and language ties. Former colonies often migrate to former metropoles where legal frameworks and diaspora networks already exist (e.g., Francophone Africa to France, South Asia to the UK) [8].

* Policy advocacy and economic modelling. Since the 1990s most mainstream economists have portrayed immigration as a net positive for GDP, influencing governments; critics such as Not On Your Team argue that these models downplayed distributional costs and cultural friction [1].

* Income differentials and labour-market pull: Average earnings in destination countries are far above global medians, while ageing Western populations create steady demand for workers in care, construction and services [1].

'''Consequences of mass migration and demographic change'''

* Political instability or conflict in origin states: Civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa as well as criminal violence in parts of ~~Latin America generate refugee flows that are channelled to the West by existing diasporas~~ and ~~smuggling networks [3].~~

* Policy choices in the West: Expanded family-reunification rules, low enforcement of overstays and periodic amnesties produce what the Not On Your Team essay calls an “implicit open-door” environment [1].

* Development aid and media connectivity: Cheap communication and social media advertise Western living standards; budget airlines and remittance networks reduce the cost of relocation [2].

* Ideational factors: Since the mid-1990s many Western elites have promoted migration as a moral obligation or cosmopolitan good, reinforcing permissive legislation [2].

~~'''Consequences of Mass Migration~~ and ~~Demographic Change'''~~

Labour markets. Empirical work generally finds small aggregate wage effects but distributional shifts: low-skilled native workers may see modest downward pressure while high-skilled natives gain from complementary labour [1][7]. Critics in Military Strategy Magazine claim that large, rapid inflows can outpace integration capacity and produce zero-sum perceptions, fuelling social tension [3].

~~Economic: Economists generally emphasise small aggregate GDP gains~~, ~~but dissenting writers argue that per-capita effects can be neutral or negative once distribution~~ and ~~public-finance costs are included~~ [1]. ~~Skilled natives may benefit, while low~~-~~skilled natives face wage competition and higher housing~~ costs [1].

Fiscal balances. In most OECD studies immigrants contribute roughly what they consume, with outcomes varying by skill level and age [7]. Opinion essays in Lorenzo from Oz argue that economists’ static models ignore long-term costs of parallel welfare systems if integration fails [2].

~~Fiscal: Ageing societies gain working-age taxpayers~~, ~~yet net fiscal impact depends on skill mix; large low~~-~~skill inflows raise welfare~~ and ~~education outlays~~ [2].

Urban infrastructure and housing. Concentration of newcomers in gateway cities increases demand for housing and public transport, occasionally pricing out long-term residents and prompting zoning-policy debates [8].

~~Cultural–political: Rapid demographic turnover~~ can ~~strain social trust~~ and ~~party systems~~. The Military Strategy ~~Magazine~~ article ~~notes~~ that ~~polarisation around~~ identity ~~and sovereignty has already produced sporadic street violence and, in worst-case scenarios, “proto-insurgency dynamics”~~ [3].

Cultural and political effects. Growing diversity encourages new cuisines, arts and entrepreneurship but can also catalyse identity politics. Elections in Europe and North America show higher support for populist parties where rapid demographic change is most visible [3]. The Military Strategy article warns that mutually antagonistic identity blocs raise the theoretical risk of “clannish civil conflict” if political compromise collapses [3]; many economists dismiss this scenario as improbable [1].

~~Security: The same source warns~~ that ~~heterogeneous urban zones complicate policing and counter~~-~~terrorism~~, ~~potentially lowering the threshold for domestic conflict~~ [3].

Demographics. Immigration has slowed population ageing in the United States, Canada and Australia and is now responsible for virtually all labour-force growth in those countries [4][5][6]. Long-term projections indicate that by mid-century no single ethnic group will hold an absolute majority in several Western states, a shift that drives current debates over national identity [8].

~~Urban planning & infrastructure: High inflows without commensurate building lead to congestion~~ and ~~affordability crises~~ in ~~major Western cities~~ [1].

Security and crime. Aggregate crime rates in the U.S., Canada and Australia continued their multi-decade decline through periods of high immigration, yet isolated terror incidents have kept security concerns in the public eye [3][8].

~~Public-health & education: Multilingual classrooms and differing vaccination norms raise administrative costs, but long-term outcomes vary by integration~~ policy ~~[2].~~

'''Did changing views of race influence policy?'''

~~'''Did~~ the ~~“Race as Social Construct” Paradigm Play a Role?'''~~

Yes. The dismantling of explicitly racial selection systems in the 1960s-1970s stemmed from evolving norms:

The ~~Wikle overview explains that post~~-~~WWII anthropology recast race~~ as a ~~socially constructed classification~~ rather than a ~~fixed biological taxonomy~~ [4]. ~~This intellectual shift had two observable effects:~~

* Civil-rights era ethics. The 1965 U.S. Act was framed by President Johnson as ending “an era of discrimination” [4].

* Multicultural ideology. Canada’s 1971 Multiculturalism Policy and the 1976 Act re-cast diversity as a national asset rather than a threat [5].

* Post-colonial self-image. Australian governments rejected the White Australia Policy to align with decolonisation and regional diplomacy [6].

~~# Normative framing: Viewing race as a fluid social label reduced political resistance~~ to large-scale ~~settlement~~ on the ~~grounds that population replacement would merely rearrange cultural categories rather than alter fundamentals [4].~~

These normative shifts made racial criteria legally untenable and morally unfashionable, opening the door to large-scale, ethnically diverse immigration streams. Authors disagree on whether the ethical turn was primary (liberal view) or whether business demand for labour was the main driver with moral language as a post-hoc justification [1][2].

~~# Policy design: Anti~~-~~discrimination and diversity laws were drafted on the assumption that racial boundaries are malleable and therefore manageable through social engineering. Critics in sources~~ [1] ~~and~~ [2] ~~claim that this optimism informed economists’ tendency to treat migrants as “perfectly substitutable workers,” downplaying social externalities~~.

'''Public ~~Discourse and Conflicting Views~~'''

'''Public discourse'''

* Mainstream ~~economics journals tend to highlight~~ aggregate ~~efficiency~~ gains and ~~the~~ humanitarian ~~case for asylum~~ [1].

Debate is polarised. Mainstream economists and many policy makers emphasise aggregate economic gains and humanitarian obligations [4][5][7]. Counter-writers on Substack and in strategy journals criticise what they call “criminal intellectual negligence” for ignoring social cohesion, local wage impacts and potential strategic instability [1][2][3]. Both sides accuse the other of cherry-picking evidence, reflecting broader cultural divides over national identity, cosmopolitanism and the proper scope of the welfare state.

* Heterodox commentators like Lorenzo from Oz argue that the discipline ignores spill-~~over costs~~, ~~calling this “intellectual suicide”~~ [2].

* Strategic-~~studies authors warn that continued demographic acceleration~~, ~~when combined with eroding~~ national ~~narratives~~, ~~raises~~ the ~~probability~~ of ~~internal violence [3].~~

* Anti-racism scholars assert that framing race as a construct is essential to delegitimise exclusionary politics [4].

~~Thus~~, ~~debates split between universalist~~, ~~economic-liberal~~ and ~~communitarian-security lenses~~. ~~The empirical record remains contested~~, and ~~further data—especially on long-run fiscal balances~~ and ~~social-cohesion metrics—is required~~.

'''Sources'''

[1] The Failure of Economists… On Migration Has Been So Bad, It May Amount to Criminal Intellectual Negligence – Not On Your Team (Substack, 2025).

[2] Economics: A Discipline Committing Suicide? Science, Reality and Social Decay – Lorenzo from Oz (Substack, 2025).

[3] Civil War Comes to the West – Military Strategy Magazine (2023).

[4] Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – Wikipedia.

[5] Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law, section “Immigration Act, 1976” – Wikipedia.

[6] White Australia Policy – Wikipedia.

[7] World Bank. “Migration and Remittances Data,” 2023 edition.

[8] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. International Migration 2020 Highlights.

== Sources ==

# [https://www.notonyourteam.co.uk/p/the-failure-of-economists The Failure of Economists… On Migration Has Been So Bad, It May Amount to Criminal Intellectual Negligence – ''Not On Your Team, But Always Fair'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)

# [https://www.lorenzofromoz.net/p/economics-a-discipline-committing Economics: A Discipline Committing Suicide? Science, Reality and Social Decay – ''Lorenzo from Oz'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)

# [https://www.militarystrategymagazine.com/article/civil-war-comes-to-the-west/ Civil War Comes to the West – ''Military Strategy Magazine''] (2023 strategy-studies article)

# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965

# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article on U.S. immigration-reform law)

# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_immigration_and_refugee_law#Immigration_Act,_1976

# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_immigration_and_refugee_law#Immigration_Act,_1976 Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law – section “Immigration Act, 1976” – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article / Canadian immigration-law history)

# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy

# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy White Australia Policy – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article on Australia’s former restrictive-immigration policy)

x

== Question ==

What are the causes of mass migration to Western nations? What are the consequences of mass migration and demographic change? Did the changing views of race have any influence?

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ''Written by AI. Help improve this answer by adding to the sources section. When the sources section is updated this article will regenerate.''
-'''Causes of Mass Migration to Western Nations'''
+'''Causes of mass migration to Western nations'''
-Mass migration into North America, Western Europe and Oceania in the late-20th and early-21st centuries is usually explained through a combination of economic, political and demographic factors. Main drivers include:
+* Economic differentials. Wage gaps of five-to-one or more between the global South and North remain the single most cited reason in surveys of migrants and are documented in World Bank remittance and earnings data [7].
+* Demographic pull. Many Western societies have ageing populations and chronically low fertility. Governments therefore look to immigration to support labour-force size, pension systems and tax bases [4][5].
+* Political instability and conflict in sending regions. UN DESA counts a tripling of forcibly displaced persons since 2010, with most seeking refuge in richer states that can process asylum claims [8].
+* Liberalisation of immigration law. The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 abolished national-origin quotas, opening the country to new source regions [4]; Canada’s 1976 Act created a points system that explicitly encouraged family unification and economic migrants [5]; Australia dismantled the White Australia Policy between 1966 and 1973, ending racial exclusions [6].
+* Cheaper transport and instant communication allow would-be migrants to organise journeys and receive real-time labour-market information [8].
+* Post-colonial and language ties. Former colonies often migrate to former metropoles where legal frameworks and diaspora networks already exist (e.g., Francophone Africa to France, South Asia to the UK) [8].
+* Policy advocacy and economic modelling. Since the 1990s most mainstream economists have portrayed immigration as a net positive for GDP, influencing governments; critics such as Not On Your Team argue that these models downplayed distributional costs and cultural friction [1].
-* Income differentials and labour-market pull: Average earnings in destination countries are far above global medians, while ageing Western populations create steady demand for workers in care, construction and services [1].
+'''Consequences of mass migration and demographic change'''
-* Political instability or conflict in origin states: Civil wars in the Middle East and North Africa as well as criminal violence in parts of Latin America generate refugee flows that are channelled to the West by existing diasporas and smuggling networks [3].
-* Policy choices in the West: Expanded family-reunification rules, low enforcement of overstays and periodic amnesties produce what the Not On Your Team essay calls an “implicit open-door” environment [1].
-* Development aid and media connectivity: Cheap communication and social media advertise Western living standards; budget airlines and remittance networks reduce the cost of relocation [2].
-* Ideational factors: Since the mid-1990s many Western elites have promoted migration as a moral obligation or cosmopolitan good, reinforcing permissive legislation [2].
-'''Consequences of Mass Migration and Demographic Change'''
+Labour markets. Empirical work generally finds small aggregate wage effects but distributional shifts: low-skilled native workers may see modest downward pressure while high-skilled natives gain from complementary labour [1][7]. Critics in Military Strategy Magazine claim that large, rapid inflows can outpace integration capacity and produce zero-sum perceptions, fuelling social tension [3].
-Economic: Economists generally emphasise small aggregate GDP gains, but dissenting writers argue that per-capita effects can be neutral or negative once distribution and public-finance costs are included [1]. Skilled natives may benefit, while low-skilled natives face wage competition and higher housing costs [1].
+Fiscal balances. In most OECD studies immigrants contribute roughly what they consume, with outcomes varying by skill level and age [7]. Opinion essays in Lorenzo from Oz argue that economists’ static models ignore long-term costs of parallel welfare systems if integration fails [2].
-Fiscal: Ageing societies gain working-age taxpayers, yet net fiscal impact depends on skill mix; large low-skill inflows raise welfare and education outlays [2].
+Urban infrastructure and housing. Concentration of newcomers in gateway cities increases demand for housing and public transport, occasionally pricing out long-term residents and prompting zoning-policy debates [8].
-Cultural–political: Rapid demographic turnover can strain social trust and party systems. The Military Strategy Magazine article notes that polarisation around identity and sovereignty has already produced sporadic street violence and, in worst-case scenarios, “proto-insurgency dynamics” [3].
+Cultural and political effects. Growing diversity encourages new cuisines, arts and entrepreneurship but can also catalyse identity politics. Elections in Europe and North America show higher support for populist parties where rapid demographic change is most visible [3]. The Military Strategy article warns that mutually antagonistic identity blocs raise the theoretical risk of “clannish civil conflict” if political compromise collapses [3]; many economists dismiss this scenario as improbable [1].
-Security: The same source warns that heterogeneous urban zones complicate policing and counter-terrorism, potentially lowering the threshold for domestic conflict [3].
+Demographics. Immigration has slowed population ageing in the United States, Canada and Australia and is now responsible for virtually all labour-force growth in those countries [4][5][6]. Long-term projections indicate that by mid-century no single ethnic group will hold an absolute majority in several Western states, a shift that drives current debates over national identity [8].
-Urban planning & infrastructure: High inflows without commensurate building lead to congestion and affordability crises in major Western cities [1].
+Security and crime. Aggregate crime rates in the U.S., Canada and Australia continued their multi-decade decline through periods of high immigration, yet isolated terror incidents have kept security concerns in the public eye [3][8].
-Public-health & education: Multilingual classrooms and differing vaccination norms raise administrative costs, but long-term outcomes vary by integration policy [2].
+'''Did changing views of race influence policy?'''
-'''Did the “Race as Social Construct” Paradigm Play a Role?'''
+Yes. The dismantling of explicitly racial selection systems in the 1960s-1970s stemmed from evolving norms:
-The Wikle overview explains that post-WWII anthropology recast race as a socially constructed classification rather than a fixed biological taxonomy [4]. This intellectual shift had two observable effects:
+* Civil-rights era ethics. The 1965 U.S. Act was framed by President Johnson as ending “an era of discrimination” [4].
+* Multicultural ideology. Canada’s 1971 Multiculturalism Policy and the 1976 Act re-cast diversity as a national asset rather than a threat [5].
+* Post-colonial self-image. Australian governments rejected the White Australia Policy to align with decolonisation and regional diplomacy [6].
-# Normative framing: Viewing race as a fluid social label reduced political resistance to large-scale settlement on the grounds that population replacement would merely rearrange cultural categories rather than alter fundamentals [4].
+These normative shifts made racial criteria legally untenable and morally unfashionable, opening the door to large-scale, ethnically diverse immigration streams. Authors disagree on whether the ethical turn was primary (liberal view) or whether business demand for labour was the main driver with moral language as a post-hoc justification [1][2].
-# Policy design: Anti-discrimination and diversity laws were drafted on the assumption that racial boundaries are malleable and therefore manageable through social engineering. Critics in sources [1] and [2] claim that this optimism informed economists’ tendency to treat migrants as “perfectly substitutable workers,” downplaying social externalities.
-'''Public Discourse and Conflicting Views'''
+'''Public discourse'''
-* Mainstream economics journals tend to highlight aggregate efficiency gains and the humanitarian case for asylum [1].
+Debate is polarised. Mainstream economists and many policy makers emphasise aggregate economic gains and humanitarian obligations [4][5][7]. Counter-writers on Substack and in strategy journals criticise what they call “criminal intellectual negligence” for ignoring social cohesion, local wage impacts and potential strategic instability [1][2][3]. Both sides accuse the other of cherry-picking evidence, reflecting broader cultural divides over national identity, cosmopolitanism and the proper scope of the welfare state.
-* Heterodox commentators like Lorenzo from Oz argue that the discipline ignores spill-over costs, calling this “intellectual suicide” [2].
-* Strategic-studies authors warn that continued demographic acceleration, when combined with eroding national narratives, raises the probability of internal violence [3].
-* Anti-racism scholars assert that framing race as a construct is essential to delegitimise exclusionary politics [4].
-Thus, debates split between universalist, economic-liberal and communitarian-security lenses. The empirical record remains contested, and further data—especially on long-run fiscal balances and social-cohesion metrics—is required.
+'''Sources'''
+[1] The Failure of Economists… On Migration Has Been So Bad, It May Amount to Criminal Intellectual Negligence – Not On Your Team (Substack, 2025).
+[2] Economics: A Discipline Committing Suicide? Science, Reality and Social Decay – Lorenzo from Oz (Substack, 2025).
+[3] Civil War Comes to the West – Military Strategy Magazine (2023).
+[4] Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – Wikipedia.
+[5] Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law, section “Immigration Act, 1976” – Wikipedia.
+[6] White Australia Policy – Wikipedia.
+[7] World Bank. “Migration and Remittances Data,” 2023 edition.
+[8] United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. International Migration 2020 Highlights.
 == Sources ==
-# [https://www.notonyourteam.co.uk/p/the-failure-of-economists The Failure of Economists… On Migration Has Been So Bad, It May Amount to Criminal Intellectual Negligence – ''Not On Your Team, But Always Fair'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)
+# [https://www.notonyourteam.co.uk/p/the-failure-of-economists The Failure of Economists… On Migration Has Been So Bad, It May Amount to Criminal Intellectual Negligence – ''Not On Your Team, But Always Fair'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)
-# [https://www.lorenzofromoz.net/p/economics-a-discipline-committing Economics: A Discipline Committing Suicide? Science, Reality and Social Decay – ''Lorenzo from Oz'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)
+# [https://www.lorenzofromoz.net/p/economics-a-discipline-committing Economics: A Discipline Committing Suicide? Science, Reality and Social Decay – ''Lorenzo from Oz'' (Substack)] (2025 commentary essay / Opinion)
-# [https://www.militarystrategymagazine.com/article/civil-war-comes-to-the-west/ Civil War Comes to the West – ''Military Strategy Magazine''] (2023 strategy-studies article)
+# [https://www.militarystrategymagazine.com/article/civil-war-comes-to-the-west/ Civil War Comes to the West – ''Military Strategy Magazine''] (2023 strategy-studies article)
-# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965
+# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_and_Nationality_Act_of_1965 Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article on U.S. immigration-reform law)
-# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_immigration_and_refugee_law#Immigration_Act,_1976
+# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_immigration_and_refugee_law#Immigration_Act,_1976 Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law – section “Immigration Act, 1976” – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article / Canadian immigration-law history)
-# https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy
+# [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy White Australia Policy – ''Wikipedia''] (Encyclopedia article on Australia’s former restrictive-immigration policy)
+x
 == Question ==
 What are the causes of mass migration to Western nations? What are the consequences of mass migration and demographic change? Did the changing views of race have any influence?