Italy’s far-right prime minister has said she will not allow the country to become “Europe’s refugee camp”, after thousands of people seeking refuge landed on its shores, prompting France to tighten controls at its border with Italy.
Giorgia Meloni told the UN general assembly in New York that the huge numbers arriving in Lampedusa, a tiny Sicilian island that for years has been the first port of call for people crossing a perilous stretch of the Mediterranean Sea from north Africa, had placed Italy “under incredible pressure”.
I mean why help people when you can kick them while they’re down? It’s just human nature at this point isn’t it?
Accepting them here won’t help the millions who remain in their home countries. It’ll only entice them to come too, and that is not sustainable.
Progressives: “So, then we should help the developing world improve to the point they no longer seek refuge? Stop climate change to prevent the future influx of hundreds of millions of refugees?”
Conservatism: “Fuck them! Fuck you! Pay me!”
Yeah, I support the first bit. We certainly can afford to help them in their home countries.
Western economies are built on the exploitation of cheap labour abroad for both manufacturing (China, India) and resource extraction (most of Africa). In contrast, the Chinese economy is built on cheap domestic labour and cheap domestic resources so that it can build things for export. The incentive structure is vastly different, because while the West basically has to act out of altruism, it’s in China’s best interest to create more demand for your production.
Damn you did so much to be where you are. I mean you were born in the right country, that has to be really hard.
How many immigrants have you accepted into your home? Would you like a million more?
A grand total of 0! Amazing isn’t it? So again, how did you get that privilege?
I was born in a shit country and everyone here worked hard over the past few decades to turn it into a decent country, with help from developed ones. That’s how.
Let us assume that you actually come from nothing and made it to a better life. Great job. That however still does not mean that the material conditions given to you are the same for everyone else. You assume that everyone has the same possibilities and opportunities as you do. That simply is not the case.
Ok, and what’s your point? Some people don’t get the same opportunities, therefore they should all move to countries which are doing well? What are they going to do once they arrive? Most of them are uneducated, don’t know the language and don’t have any valuable skills. How are they going to survive in these crowded, overpriced cities?
They can’t all live on welfare payments.
That’s why I support helping their home countries develop, funding education and healthcare, sharing agricultural and manufacturing knowledge. It’ll be better for everyone if they turn their poor countries into developed economies.