It's no secret that pretty much every thread about immigration around here usually devolves into a shit-flinging contest in the span of a few posts — and we don't need no naziposter for that, we're perfectly capable of behaving like idiots all by ourselves.
So I'm starting this thread in the hope that we can have a decent leftists discussion centered around the theme of contemporary mass immigration. Just please follow these simple rules:
1) Back your claims with evidence from reputable sources when confronted
2) Be nuanced — don't write of disagreement as fascism or liberalism
2) Ignore low-quality bait from Holla Forumstards whining about shitskins
So, in order to start a conversation — I'll just ask this.
My point with this opening statement is not to defend or decry immigration nor to idolize or demonize immigrants. I simply want to discuss this hypothesis: immigration to developed countries is inevitable in a world of global inequality.
Birth rates in developed countries are decreasing (thanks to education, urbanization, family planning, lack of economic necessity, etc) and this trend is not going to revert. This results in an aging population and a shrinking workforce. Moreover, natives naturally abandon low-skilled jobs in favor of more comfortable or rewarding careers as they become more educated. That is when immigrants, looking for better prospects than what they can find in their home country, come in: They fill in the void that natives left behind. This pleases the capitalist who gets to hire mostly non-union workers who accept lower wages and worse conditions, and to which the solidarity of natives is unlikely to extend because of easily exacerbated ethnic tensions.
This phenomenon isn't new: the same happened in France straight from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution with succeeding waves of immigration (from Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland, Algeria, etc) who all fulfilled that role — and similarly suffered from disadvantageous economic conditions and aggressive xenophobia.
Even the right-wing government of a country as historically hostile to immigration as Japan is increasingly reliant on migrant workers (from China, Brazil, Iran, etc) to deal with their demographic shift and labor shortage.
Do you think this is correct? How do you thinks recent developments like automation and climate change will play into this?