In an op-ed in the Washington Post William Galston handily sums up why populist movements are gaining force both here in the United States and in Europe:
The immigration issue is poisoning democratic politics, and not just in the United States. Purging this poison means resisting the urge to demonize the critics of current policies and instead searching for common ground that promotes the common good. While prejudice and hatred cannot be tolerated, liberals and progressives need to pay more attention to grievances — such as fears about economic and cultural displacement, the rule of law and loss of sovereignty — that should not be dismissed as pure bigotry.
Believing that you have a right to your own culture and that immigrants have an affirmative responsibility to adopt the cultures of their new home countries is not bigotry but painting it as such is. Emma Lazarus believed that immigrants had an affirmative responsibility to adopt the dress, customs, and language of their new homes, for goodness sake.
Societies have carrying capacities for being able to handle numbers of new immigrants peaceably and without undue disruption. We have very nearly reached ours.
Don’t be confused. The real poison in our politics is the wish by the powerful to replace their workforces or voters with more tractable and grateful ones.
