Chris McQuiggin (Contributing Editor for the Labour Party at Speaker's Chair) writes about the Labour Party and immigration on the LabourList website: http://labourlist.org/2013/08/we-must-not-pander-on-immigration/
It is a rather vacuous article, and gives no reasons why the Labour party should encourage immigration.
However among the cod-philosophy and appeals to internationalism he does use the rather telling phrase: "one of societies most powerful, misguided and damaging neuroses; the fear of strangers."
This statement is only half true.
One could rewrite it more accurately as: "one of societies most powerful, prudent and well-advised concerns, the fear of undemocratic behaviour by an elite we have trusted."
Let's leave on one side all the nonsense about "vibrant diversity" and its supposed benefits.
Let's just focus on the fact that since 1945, in the era of universal suffrage, a massive social change has occurred against the wishes of the majority.
Does that not bother the left at all?
Even those who consider themselves true socialists and citizens of the world, are they not worried that this can happen?
Because the implication is terrifying - we do not live in a democracy, it is all a sham, anything can be done to us and we are unable to stop it.
That is why we (all of us) cannot let the issue of post-war immigration drop.
It must either be made legitimate (and there are several ways of doing this).
Or it must be reversed (and there are several ways of doing this too).
Or we must accept that democracy has failed and we must begin again the long long struggle of defining what social system we want to live under, who gets to decide things, what happens to those who don't conform etc.
It is a rather vacuous article, and gives no reasons why the Labour party should encourage immigration.
However among the cod-philosophy and appeals to internationalism he does use the rather telling phrase: "one of societies most powerful, misguided and damaging neuroses; the fear of strangers."
This statement is only half true.
One could rewrite it more accurately as: "one of societies most powerful, prudent and well-advised concerns, the fear of undemocratic behaviour by an elite we have trusted."
Let's leave on one side all the nonsense about "vibrant diversity" and its supposed benefits.
Let's just focus on the fact that since 1945, in the era of universal suffrage, a massive social change has occurred against the wishes of the majority.
Does that not bother the left at all?
Even those who consider themselves true socialists and citizens of the world, are they not worried that this can happen?
Because the implication is terrifying - we do not live in a democracy, it is all a sham, anything can be done to us and we are unable to stop it.
That is why we (all of us) cannot let the issue of post-war immigration drop.
It must either be made legitimate (and there are several ways of doing this).
Or it must be reversed (and there are several ways of doing this too).
Or we must accept that democracy has failed and we must begin again the long long struggle of defining what social system we want to live under, who gets to decide things, what happens to those who don't conform etc.
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