14 oktober 2019
An important question which is often asked nowadays is whether our times are a copy of the Thirties. The answer I believe is No for 80% and Yes for 20%.
It is a clear and loud “No” because in the Thirties of the previous century Europeans concluded to exterminate a part of their European population and started to do so.
Today, “right-wing” thinking is mainly concerned about (floods of) immigration, be it from related EU-countries or from outside the EU. The motives why people are reluctant are irrelevant. Essential is that there is a big difference between an ideology that aims at eliminating part of its own population (Thirties) and trying to control the inflow of immigrants (Today).
Overall I believe that the average European would support the following statements :
1°) People who need political asylum should obtain that.
2°) If economic migrants fill needs in our job market, then they are welcome.
3°) Other migrants (than 1 and 2) are not welcome and should be expelled (by force if needed).
4°) Migrants should integrate. This means that they should at least learn the local language.
5°) Migrants should obtain access to the social security systems in a gradual way, linked to the contributions they’ve made to the society in which they are received.
I would not call the sum of these statements right-wing. I believe they are reasonable and fair, even if some of them might even go against certain principles of the European Union when applied to migrants from within the European Union.
But there remains a Yes of 20%. I’m afraid that because leftists quite (too) easily argue that people who are concerned about immigration are fascists or racists, these people might indeed start to search for inspiration in the Thirties.