Immigration has become a strong winning issue for right-wing parties around the world and an organizing issue for extreme right-wing parties. Why? What should centrist and left-wing parties do?
Accelerants
There are more immigrants. Economic, religious, social and political immigrants. More international conflicts, civil wars and gang violence. Continued huge gaps in living standards between countries. Global communications and transportation networks that make migration possible. The demand for in-migration to developed countries is very high.
In a world of rapid change, slowing growth and religious doubt, citizens of advanced nations are insecure.
Politicians have learned that a simplistic polarization of left versus right is much easier to manage than “solving problems” and have increasingly framed all politics as “us versus them”.
In a world of skepticism and loss of certainty caused by the undermining of religion, progress, science, socialism, fascism, or nationalism as a definite answer we increasingly turn to “identity” as our rock. Blame Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” insight or Martin Luther’s religious individualism or libertarian economic individualism or countercultural social individualism or the “therapeutic society” triggered by Sigmund Freud.
We all need a basis for our cognitive consistency. Today, our personal identity is raised as a mini-God of great importance. We merge political, cultural and personal identities. We look to national, cultural, racial, class, professional, fraternal, social, alumni or corporate identities for meaning. Identity is MUCH more important today. It is subject to political and media influence and manipulation.
Moral Foundations Framework
Jonathan Haidt and his colleagues sought to define the core, inherent, inherited moral, political and religious frameworks that we all have. They contrasted traditional and modern moral beliefs. They noted that “modern” beliefs are extraordinary and WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic. They combined social science testing, statistics and evolutionary psychology to determine 5-8 widely held moral beliefs that “make sense” based on their interpretation of human and cultural evolution. They noted that liberals emphasize just the two values of care and fairness, while conservatives add the values of loyalty, authority, purity/sanctity, proportionality, ownership and liberty.
Immigration is a Huge Threat to Many
I’m insecure, framing politics in simple left versus right, “us versus them” terms and insecure in my identity. I’m sensitive to all of the moral flavors, including loyalty, authority and purity. Immigration is increasing. Illegal immigration is uncontrolled.
What do I see?
Economic threats to jobs, assets and privilege.
Unfair claims on public welfare programs.
Risk of increased crime, disease, drugs and social dysfunction.
Further dilution of and threats against traditional culture by unfamiliar “others”. Different birthplace, nationality, race, religion, class, language and expectations.
Opposition to the “rule of law”, unfairly proposing amnesty for illegal immigrants.
A feeling of personal and social violation or invasion by “others”. A loss of control.
A threat to the symbolic nation and national security.
Reasonable people take this perspective. They look at “liberals” who emphasize “immigrant rights” above this reality as insane.
Academic research generally supports the “Moral Foundations Theory” view.
https://econtent.hogrefe.com/doi/10.1027/1864-9335/a000447
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0147176724001251
https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/7/3/65
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/19485506231162161
Centrist Political Response
- Acknowledge those who feel this threat. Don’t dismiss, discount, demonize or rationalize them or the politicians that support them. Recognize their legitimate concerns.
- Focus on the issue of illegal immigration. Solve it. Invest in border controls.
- Implement a national ID system that prevents illegal employment.
- Enhance the agricultural guest worker program.
- Focus on the issue of unlimited asylum seekers. Solve it. Revise standards to be reasonable. Resolve cases within a year. Set a limit. Find ways to “share the love” with other countries.
- Support a “points system” that prioritizes “value added” immigrants.
- Propose a way like Reagan’s “path to citizenship” for existing illegal immigrants.
- Support expulsion of all convicted felony criminals.
- Ignore the extremist rhetoric about illegal immigrants.
- Highlight Trump’s unwillingness to even discuss a bipartisan solution.
- Highlight the much greater importance of national economic success, affordable prices, the rule of law, sustainable democracy and American global interests.
- Highlight a political platform of personal and economic opportunity rather than individual “rights”.
- Promote immigrant success stories at the working, middle, professional and upper-class levels. Leverage visible sports, arts, media and political figures.
- Highlight diverse successful assimilation communities across the United States.
- Fine-tune welfare programs to clearly exclude illegal immigrants.
Summary
Leftists often believe that their views are obvious, logical and historically “true”. Caring and Fairness are clearly the ultimate values in modern times. The other values are seen as remnants of the unenlightened past. I believe that the moral values of loyalty, authority and purity are also valid. Principled conservatism is a valid perspective.
It is easy to take an enlightened, universal, abstract, economically disinterested view when someone has the assets and talents valued by our society (standing “privilege” on its head). When an individual is unsure of his prospects (standing John Rawls on his head) in the real world, he is rooted in the familiar world of family, caste, class, neighborhood, culture, social groups and self-interest. Insecurity and threats matter. Politicians in a democratic system should listen and respond.
Immigration is a real threat to a majority of our citizens. We should manage it accordingly.
Only by managing the threat can we invest in the proper care for immigrants as a society.
I addressed this topic 4 years ago. I was less willing to fully accept the right-wing perspective.
Good News 