Philippe Legrain talks about his new book on Immigration, Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them in an interview on 3 AM magazine in he explains why he believes that in open borders and that geography should be tyrannical. Sugary excerpt:
The case for open borders — or for freer immigration — is three-fold: it spreads freedom, it widens opportunity and it enriches the economy, culture and society. So let me pose the question differently: is it fair that the rich and the educated can circulate around the world freely while people in poor countries are expected to stay put in the country where they were born? Is it fair that under the government’s proposed new immigration points system people from developing countries who lack the qualifications that the government deems necessary will have no legal route to come work in this country? Is it surprising — or unfair — that if it is impossible to come work in Britain legally that some people do so illegally?
In the case of immigration, there is always going to be a difference between perception and reality, and between need and desires. Immigration is going to remain an unpopular and explosive issue not only in developed countries, but also in developing country. The reason for this is very simple is that immigration is the perfect issue to both reassure and scare people. The Immigration issue reassures people because they can put the blame for the troubles of their society on others. It scares them because it reinforces their own perception about their loss of control over the changes in their society, which they dislike. In other words, there is no question that immigrants are needed, but the issue is elsewhere is that people want them to become invisible and or to be as much as them as possible to neutralize the possible influence, which they may have on their host country.
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