Shikha Dalmia on Fading Anti-Immigrant Fervor
The immigration wave of the last decade is making people in England more racist, according to a sensational new poll. If this were true, it would indeed be very bad news for those, like me, who favor less restrictionism and freer cross-border flows. Fortunately, it is not true. Indeed, if anything, widespread anti-immigrant sentiment is destined to become a relic of the past.
On the whole, writes Shikha Dalmia, emerging trends suggest that John Lennon might have been more right than wrong: A relatively borderless world that allows free movement of people will also be more—not less—tolerant. Why? Because contact with immigrants humanizes them, making it harder to scapegoat them for existential anxieties created by a fast-changing world.