When the ugly side of globalization bites back
On the 3rd of Feb, I wrote Chickens come home to roost as the credit crunched bite back. As they say in football – when the home supporters get antsy about their team’s usually lousy performance, “the natives are getting restless”. Not surprising though, as human nature has a habit of defaulting us to protectionism when we’re faced with adversity that we don’t understand.
The British are now making concerted noises about the fact that the number of foreign workers in the land of the queen has doubled in the last 10 years to 3.8 million. I’m not sure yet whether this is the primary fact that irks those shouting about it – or its the fact that over 66% of these foreign workers were born outside the European union.
These noises are of course amplified in the background of British folks losing jobs left, right and centre – and for the most part, the average Jo Public is still trying to understand the magnitude of this beast they’re calling the credit crunch.
I’ve never been one to believe statistics after my maths lecturer in college taught me how statistics can be used to manipulate any message we want – and politicians can be uncanny at blowing smoke up our arses with statistics to boot.
Case in point a certain Marion Berry as Mayor of Washington DC shamelessly saying “Apart from the murders and killings, the crime rate in DC has really gone down”.
I think that the suggested percentage rise of foreign workers against the locals is neither here nor there (although some would argue otherwise), but it provides classic fodder for opposition politicians who are quickly developing a dangerous brand of “let’s blame the bastards in office” game – especially when the stakes are really high.
It’s a dangerous game because the pawns in the game are vulnerable people who have lost their jobs, their savings, their livelihoods, and the future doesn’t look as bright as Orange told them it was going to be.
It’s a dangerous game because the only alternative the opposition politicians have in lieu of viable and tangible policies that rival the “bastards in office” – is to scare the hell out of voters and then tell them who’s to blame for the mess they’re in.
The irony is that British politicians don’t hold the monopoly of this sadistic tactic – it’s almost like shafting electorates in the period before elections is a God given right for politicians world over.
Isn’t it also ironic that on a good day, the same politicians peddle the virtues of globalization and its benefits to the world with free movement of people and ideas – and on a bad day, they go postal on our arses with controversial messages laced with elements of protectionism that perpetuate “a”them vs. Us” state of affairs?
As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, globalization in its current rendition of economic migration and free movement of people dictates that you get a taste of it in your own backyard.
The west has had its rampant gallivanting around the world for hundreds of years “conquering” most of it for its own purposes of survival – and it’s difficult to see in this day and age how they’re going to change the fact that there’s folks from the rest of the world and the former empire who want and demand a piece of that action – with some having the belief that its their God given right.
Politicians should stop saber rattling in the name of initiating debate as economic migration is a fate accompli as long as they continue their neo-colonial and imperialistic actions and attitudes and using an unsavoury brand of diplomacy to dictate a new world order.
Of course, many will tell you to refer to this as aid and development assistance to the 3rd world. How dare you call it neo-colonial imperialism.
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Tags: Economic migration
April 8th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Comment by Mocha on 18.02.2009 at 12.39 pm
Nice write-up!
Just when you thing the bad smell of immigration has been masked by the CC issue, this comes up.
Waiting game this is, in my opinion.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Comment by Darius Stone on 18.02.2009 at 1.34 pm
Mocha.
As regular as clock work, you know when election time is due. Someone will always heckle about immigration. The problem this time round is that local folks are losing their jobs vibaya and they want somewhere to vent. I had to switch off talk sport radio in the car this morning coz’ it was just getting out of hand with callers unleashing – save for a couple of guys who pointed out that local labour is not always cost effective coz’ its expensive and lazy.
April 8th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Comment by 3TOC on 18.02.2009 at 7.38 pm
If I had a highlighter, I would be highlighting that second to last paragraph.
Which jobs are they making noise about?And why now? How “easy” is it for someone of non-EU origin to get these jobs?