"None of this is true: The 18th and 19th century colonial projects were never about making the natives wealthy and successful‚ any more than slavery was about improving the condition of the slaves-a ludicrous and offensive position that Lost Cause advocates still argue. Colonialism was-and is-about the use of raw power to accumulate more power, more resources, more markets, more military bases, and more cheap and expendable labor. Miller's "reverse colonization,""
"Allowing more immigration was-and is-not about "self-punishment"; it's about keeping countries economically dynamic. Immigrants-be they refugees, asylum seekers, or any other visa holders-start companies, provide needed medical and homecare skills, staff child care centers, and pick the crops that homegrown populations have long since decided they don't want to pick. Take away immigration and remove immigrants, and you have a smaller, meaner, narrower, and poorer culture left behind."
Might is right underlies the Trump administration's decision to kidnap Nicolás Maduro. Claims that Western colonialism aimed to enrich indigenous populations are false; colonialism functioned to deploy raw power to extract resources, build markets, secure military bases, and exploit cheap expendable labor. A more open, liberal, race-neutral immigration system historically attracted labor, talent, investment, and ambitious migrants, sustaining economic dynamism. Immigrants start businesses, fill essential caregiving and healthcare roles, staff child care, and perform agricultural labor. Removing immigration yields a smaller, meaner, narrower, and economically poorer culture.
Read at The Nation
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