2006-09-08

Labour Mobility

Diana makes a great point about the need for loose restrictions on human migration. In general, resistance I have seen to immigration in the United States and Europe comes partially from irrational fears or ignorance of basic economic principals. However, the primary motivation I have observed stems from blind racial, sectarian, and nationalistic passions. Such idiocy should have been abandoned in the 19th century. Nation-states themselves are merely artifacts of the Congress of Vienna and need to be completely rethought in the 21st century. They only serve to deepen the imbalances and poverty that already exist.

1 comment:

the cyberpanopticon said...

Hi Joe,
I just wanted to say that the system of nation-states that you refer to can be traced at the Peace of Westphalia(1648). I agree that the nation-state is an artificial constuction and that the nation-state, and the principle of soveriegnty upon which the nation-state is based, has long been a source of exclusion and an obstruction to political and economic integration.