Free movement of people

Hi Everyone,

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I have had some fun with a few posts recently but today I want to tackle something a little more serious and something that has received quite a bit of attention over the last few years. This post will be included in my 'darkside of economics' series.

The title of this post is ‘Free movement of people’. I want to investigate migration and movement of people in general, which could also be within the same country. I will be using the terminology ‘new arrivals’, which will refer to immigrants as well as people moving within the same country or region. I will use ‘existing population’ to refer to the existing settled population.

Types of human migration

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People move from place to place for various reasons. Some people move based on the desirability of the destination (pull factors). Some people move because they are forced out of their place of origin (push factors). Pull factors could include better job opportunities, climate, government (or lack of), culture, laws and regulations, etc. Push factors could include war, poverty, corrupt government, famine, bad foreign policy, racism, radical culture or religion, etc.

People can move within a country or group/block of countries in the case of the European Union. This type of movement does not require documentation or visas and can be done with relative ease. Movement between countries is normally regulated. People require travel documents and visas. They can only stay for a period of time and under certain conditions. Countries often discriminate between people from other countries based on agreements, ratings or foreign policy. In some cases, people from particular countries are banned altogether.

Migration can be either legal or illegal. Migration would be considered legal if all requirements of visas are met and people do not overstay. Migration would be considered illegal if people cross country’s borders without documentation or stay longer than permitted by their documentation. For example, in the USA, illegal immigration is typically caused through overstaying rather than illegally entering the country (npr.org)

Where do I stand?

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There are arguments for and against the free movement of people between places. I believe people should be able to move as freely as possible between places, even countries. I believe the borders between countries are imaginary lines drawn on a map. I believe communities can have their own culture and identity. However, this does not need to be defined by an imaginary line. The culture and identity is with the people and not the geographical location. However, mass migration can present enormous problems for a host community. Many of these problems are used to defend the argument of restricting the movement of people. Many of these arguments appear very strong and compelling. This makes the case for free movement a difficult one to defend.

In this post, I will attempt to present a reasonably balanced discussion regarding the advantages of free movement as well as the fears.

The advantages of freedom of movement of people

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The freedom of movement of people has many potential advantages if considered under normal circumstances (i.e. mass numbers of people are not entering to flee a war torn area). Such advantages include.

  • Meeting skill shortages
  • Performing jobs the existing population do not want
  • Knowledge, experience, and cultural sharing
  • Diversity of goods and services
  • Strengthening of culture and values

Meeting skill shortages


There is rarely a perfect fit between skills and jobs. In the case of an excess of a particular skill, people either reskill or move somewhere where that skill is needed. In the case of a shortage of a particular skill, attracting people from outside of the community is a benefit to both the new arrival/migrant as well as the existing community. Free movement of people should reduce unemployment and underemployment as well as improve efficiency.

Performing jobs that the existing population do not want


Not all jobs are desirable for a society that is growing in affluence. Many people do not aspire or desire to become cleaners, manual labourers, taxi drivers etc. Unskilled immigrants from low-income countries often opt for these jobs, as they are able to earn considerably more money than what they could in their own country.

Knowledge, experience, and cultural sharing


People from different locations have different backgrounds, experiences and perceptions. An existing population can be enriched by socialising, working, and communicating with new arrivals to the community. Learning more about people from other places can broaden our perspectives and understanding. This can build empathy and tolerance to cultural differences.

Diversity of goods and services


People from different locations might offer slightly different goods and services than the existing population. A good example is food. People from different cultures eat different food. It is quite often that new arrivals will open restaurants to make and sell this food to the community.

Strengthening of culture and values


Strengthening of culture and values may not be the first thing people think of when it comes to new arrivals or immigrants. It is not unusual for people to move to a particular place, area, or community because of the culture and values. Not everybody fits in well in his or her place of origin. Therefore, people may choose to move somewhere where the culture, customs and ideology are more compatible with their own.

Legal vs. Illegal Immigration

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The next area I would like to consider is the difference between legal and illegal immigration. There appears to be a consensus that legal immigration is good or at least acceptable. There is a much more fierce debate in regards to illegal immigration. Some people believe that if it is ‘illegal’ it is ‘wrong’. There is also negative stigma towards illegal immigrants, as it is believed they desire to either leach off the existing population or commit crimes to survive. Others believe that illegal immigration exists because of the failure of the system to enable people to enter or stay in a country lawfully.

If overstaying is the highest form of illegal immigration, it is likely there is a problem with the system. These problems could relate to:

  • the number of people processing the visas
  • the number of people applying for the visas
  • the level of bureaucracy involved with obtaining visas
  • the types of visas available
  • hidden discrimination
  • processing errors

People that overstay were allowed into the country and therefore met the requirement at the border. The process began legally, which indicates that initial grounds for entering were considered acceptable.

People crossing the border illegally could be considered a greater threat than people that over stayed. Crossing over the border illegally, is a strong indication that these people would not be able to enter the country through a legal method. A high number of people entering illegally could be an indication of lack of border security. It is also possible that people enter illegally out of desperation when there is not sufficient legal visa options or too much bureaucracy exists.

Mass Migration and Asylum Seekers

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Many migration discussions have been focussed on mass migration and asylum seekers. Mass migration typically occurs because of push factors such as war, poverty, famine, racism, etc. Mass migration generally creates the most fear amongst existing populations. Before I describe the fears and concerns with mass migration, I would like to go a little deeper into mass migration and some of the causes. For this post, I will use Syria as an example.

Syria

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Syria has contributed to the highest number of refugees from one country entering into Europe, see Figure 1 below. Kosovo is not far behind but I will mostly focus on Syria as prior to 2011 Syria had almost no asylum seekers/refugees.

Figure 1: 2015 European migrant crisis

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Source: wikipedia

The number of Syrian refugees started to increase rapidly after about six months from the start of the Syrian ‘Civil War’/’Invasion’; different sources record events differently. I will be referring to sources obtained from globalresearch.ca as I consider them reliable as they often get information from sources that contain witness accounts and they do not appear biased or support any obvious agenda. Globalresearch.ca reports and articles are also consistent with many alternative media as well as RT America.

The globalresearch.ca refers to a book ‘The Dirty War on Syria’ by Professor Tim Anderson. This book provides accounts from people who were at the 2011 protests. These witness accounts described protestors/insurgents initiating violence against soldiers, police, and civilians. The Human Rights Watch observed that protests in Syria prior to 2011 were peaceful. Alternative stories began to emerge regarding the source of the violence. Western media reported information provided by the rebels who claimed that the Syrian government were attacking protestors. This is in contrast to witness accounts documented by Professor Tim Anderson (globalresearch.ca).

The 2011 protests aligns very closely to the massive increase in refugees into Europe from Syria. Prior to 2011, the number of refugees appears close to zero, see Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Registered Syrian Refugees

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Source: mesc.osu.edu

In early 2015, there is also a spike in the number of refugees, which occurs not long after the US Congress decided, in September 2014, to arm Syrian rebels (politico.com).

The globalresearch.ca references another book ‘Voices from Syria’ by Mark Taliano. This book outlines a broader perspective of the horror and hardships brought about by the war in Syria. The outline of the book elaborates on the USA, UK, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar’s support for the Syrian rebels. The Syrian rebels, according to accounts in the book, are al Qaeda rebels who are attempting to overthrow the Syrian government. The Syrian government with the help of Civilian Militia were having considerably success against the rebels until the USA intervened to help them (globalresearch.ca).

Described above is just a very brief summary of the events that sparked the mass migration from Syria to the rest of the world, mostly Europe. It is very difficult to ascertain a true reflection of the events in Syria from western mainstream media. There are many reasons not to trust what is in the mainstream media but I will discuss that in more detail in another post.

A good major alternative media is RT America. They cover almost all the major stories and mostly lack the bias of mainstream media. There are many alternative media channels on YouTube or Dtube. One of my favourites is ‘we are change’. There are some very good filmmakers and independent journalists such John Pilger. In the RT interview in the YouTube video below, John Pilger provides some great insights into the mainstream media reporting of Syria, Yemen, and North Korea.

What are the fears of immigration?

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Syria is one example of a country attacked into despair. This despair leads to mass migration, as people are desperate to get away from the carnage and destruction. This mass migration away from such perils should be seen as necessary. Even though mass migration is necessary under certain circumstances, it also raises a number of concerns for the people of the countries where the mass migration is heading. The most commonly discussed concerns are as follows:

  • Drain on welfare system
  • Drain on existing infrastructure and amenities
  • Dilution or erosion of existing culture
  • Loss of national identity
  • Political structure
  • Overall downward pressure on wages
  • Crime and terrorism
  • Discourages investment in capital

It is very difficult to debate most of the above concerns without delving deep into the statistics. Statistics can also be geared towards presenting a particular answer. Therefore, I will broadly discuss some of the main concerns.

Drain on existing infrastructure and amenities


Mass migration as described in the previous section is mostly driven by war and poverty. On arrival, many of these migrants will require food, lodgings and other necessities. This will be at a cost to the host nation. This should only be a temporary arrangement for each person or family. Those being provided should either fully legally migrate or return to their country of origin when it becomes stable. Instead, what often occurs in many countries is that asylum seekers are detained for long periods.

For migrants that are granted permanent stay in a country, might create additional strain on existing infrastructure of country. They will require access to permanent housing, health care, schools, transport, etc. These will not be provided for free but the increased demand will form upward pressure on the price for all of the above. There will also be downward pressure on price if the migrant labour are able to meet the demands they and other s create. Refer to my point on the downward pressure on wages for a more complete picture of the situation.

Drain on the welfare system


There is only a drain on the welfare system if welfare is being given out to immigrants. If this is the case, this is a failure of the system. Immigrants should only be entitled to any welfare benefits if they have citizenship or some form of permanent residency. If welfare payments are obtained fraudulently, that is another failure of the system.

Many governments have created systems where the population has become heavily dependent on handouts rather than earning and taking care of themselves. These countries with such systems are more likely to attract people that want to take from the system. I firmly believe in providing opportunity rather than handouts. This approach would not attract people that want to take more than they contribute.

There are also people that have entered countries with almost nothing and have managed to do amazing things with their lives. It is biased to assume that all or even most of those that enter a country through mass migration will be a burden if they stay.

Dilution or erosion of culture


The fear of dilution or erosion of culture is an understandable fear. Many countries and communities take great pride in their culture, heritage, identity and customs. A mass influx of people from a different culture is a threat to an existing culture. Germany is an example of country where its citizens feel threatened by mass migration (politico.eu)

Germany has taken in the highest number of migrants of any European Union country in recent years. This has led to great dissatisfaction with the government. See Figure 3 for a comparison of the number of asylum seekers that Germany accommodates compared to the rest of the European Union countries.

Figure 3: Asylum Seeker 2014-2017

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Source: bbc.com.

Loss of national identity


Many countries have a strong national identity. Mass migration could be seen as a threat. This could become particularly true if the number of people from mass migration becomes a significant proportion of the population. The demographics of smaller communities in a country could dramatically change quickly. This could have a significant impact on the way of life of the existing population.

Political Structure


Mass migration could change the political structure of a country, if the migrants participate in elections. The differences in political and cultural background could result in different government representation in a community. For example, in a US election, immigrants might prefer to vote for Democrats, as many Democratic candidates might be more willing to support open boarder policies. It is possible that if immigrants have the same religion, they will vote along religious lines. A candidate could be elected who enacts laws that align with a particular religion. This could be in stark contrast to the wishes of the existing population.

Overall downward pressure on wages


An increase in supply of labour without an increase in the demand for the outputs produced by that labour will put downward pressure on wages. This could occur because there are more people competing for the same amount of work. This scenario is unlikely as the new immigrants are also likely to increase demand, as they also have needs and wants. However, this demand is likely to be different from the existing population. Therefore, we are likely to see downward pressure on wages of jobs that immigrants apply for, which do not have a corresponding increase in demand. However, there will also be goods and services that will experience an increase in demand, as immigrants might lack the skills or unwilling to do these jobs. The wages for these jobs will likely increase.

It is also possible that there will be zero impact on wages as wages are regulated. There could be minimum wages in place, which prevents wages from being pushed down.

Crime and terrorism


Politicians and the media often use crime and terrorism as a fear-mongering tactic to convince the public that migrants (product of mass migration) should be prevented from entering the country. Most of the information presented does not represent the large majority of immigrants.

Discourages investment in capital


An influx of cheaper low cost labour may discourage businesses from investing in capital. A lower interest in low paid manufacturing jobs puts pressure on businesses to upgrade their equipment as well as invest more research and development in order to continue business operations at a low cost. Migrants that are willing to work low paid manufacturing jobs reduces the incentive for businesses to invest and upgrade. This could be seen as a short-term benefit at a long-term cost.

The extent of this problem should be minimised as successful businesses generally plan for the future. If there are opportunities to improve products and lower costs, they should be considered in advance. Even if the arrival of low cost labour delays investment in capital, that could be beneficially as investment could be delayed until better technology is available which could be a better alternative than the lower cost migrant labour.

How to solve the problems of mass migration

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Debate typically focuses around enabling or regulating/preventing mass migration. These debates are pointless as the real problems are not resolved. The real debate needs to be about western foreign policy and interference in other countries. The general rule regarding western foreign policy appears to be the removal of any regime that does not meet western criteria. Many South American countries have faced consequences for electing leaders not to the pleasing of western powers; John Pilger has made many great documentaries about the consequences to countries that have not played by western rules. Many of these countries have not suffered direct invasions but have instead had to contend with restrictions to trade or sabotage from within.

The first big step to reducing mass migration is to stop destroying other countries. Mass migration, as I have mentioned in this post several times, is predominately because of push factors and not pull factors. Remove the ‘imposed’ push factors and mass migration will be a much smaller problem. Instead, there will be much healthier natural migration from pull factors. People will be migrating because they want to be somewhere. There will still be some cases where people may need to flee their countries for some disasters. I do not believe western foreign policy is responsible for all foreign atrocities. In these cases, refugees will still need to be helped. The aim should be to help them return to their country. Direct aid to those suffering can be provided to them in their country. This will also reduce the need for mass migration to western countries.

Open borders and global government

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Will open borders lead to a global government? Open borders could be used to create a global government. A borderless world could be used as an argument for a global government. The world could be considered as a one giant country only needing one government.

The European Union, for example, could eventually become one country. The Euro is widely adopted by its member countries. There are European laws that span across all of the European Union. The European Union has open borders between its member countries. Centralisation of power in the European Union appears to be increasing and individual countries have less control.

I believe people should be able to move as freely as possible between countries, territories, communities etc. I believe that this should happen through reduced government intervention. Global government is not required for free movement of people. Decentralised government/administration for communities would be far more desirable. National governments are not necessarily required for free movement of people either. Small local governments could perform this function. Democratic process for each community could be used to determine the community’s stance on new arrivals. A community could choose to be closed off; the impact would be minimal as new arrivals could easily choose another community.

For small community governments to replace national governments would require a huge paradigm shift in thinking. Small community governments also have many weaknesses as well as strengths unrelated to the movement of people. This is a discussion for another post as it is very complex and has many implications.

Conclusion

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This brings me to the end of a post that has been quite difficult to articulate because of the complexity of the issues relating to movement of people. The focus of discussions relating to symptoms of mass migration has further complicated matters. For problems to be truly resolved, they need to be tackled at the source. Governments would rather tackle the symptoms of problems, which only results in temporary mitigation of the problem. This is mostly likely deliberate, as problems give governments, large ones in particular, a reason to exist.

I hope you have found this post interesting and informative.

More posts


If you want to read any of my other posts, you can click on the links below. These links will lead you to posts containing my collection of works. These posts will be updated frequently.

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