There’s a very interesting Conatus review of a book that sounds quite interesting in itself.
And the book itself sounds really fascinating. Douglas Murray’s The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam.
The review counterposes Francis Fukuyama’s contentious ‘End of History’ thesis (liberal democracy has won!) with Murray’s disturbing account of a continent in decline.
The reviewer, Terri Murray, mentions four causes for pessimism in Murray’s book:
The unprecedented scale of mass migration to Europe.
Note that it is not ‘migration’ that is presented as a problem, but excessive and disproportionate migration.
The illiberal religious views of a large number of migrants.
(Murray bravely avoids a ‘hashtag, not all migrants.’ I expect Murray probably did as well. ‘Not all’ is often a dishonest red herring, after all).
A full-blown civilizational crisis of confidence.
Many Europeans seem to have trouble not only defending, but even believing in the best aspects of their own cultural heritage.
Poisoning the well of civic discourse.
It’s difficult to talk about the ongoing crisis of Occidental and European civilization, and get a fair hearing. The conversation is often shut down or censored.
Nonetheless, Terri Murray also has some reservations about Douglas Murray’s thesis, such as his apparent failure to adequately distinguish liberal humanism from the postmodern nihilism that has followed it. Has Douglas Murray run two very different things together? The review I have linked to above will give you food for thought; I’m sure the book will do so also.
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All this surely leads one to ask what direction immigration policy should take.
Well, immigration can work in the UK, but it must be done sensibly.
The important thing is a balanced and moderate migration regime, where the numbers of individuals arriving have a fair chance to integrate; this is actually pretty zero-sum.
Neither banning immigration nor freedom of movement are expedient at this point in history.
There is a middle ground.
Obviously there is more going on here than immigration policy itself; but I hope to have a chance to read Murray’s book myself one day.