Pun Salad

I approached this book with some trepidation. I haven't had a lot of luck with nonfiction authors whose first names begin with Y. Good news: this one, by Yascha Mounk, is pretty good; his prose is clear and interesting, and he makes a lot of sense.

His title is taken from an interview he did with a German TV news show, referring to the unprecedented influx of immigrants of different religions, races, and ethnicities into democratic countries worldwide. He noted the accompanying stresses on previously monocultural countries, many of which were becoming more authoritarian in response. And he dubbed the overall process "a historically unique experiment."

Well, that did it. Opponents of immigration seized (yes, seized) on that word "experiment". And they pounced. Boy did they ever pounce. Because when you've got an experiment, that implies experimenters. Who are the white-coated pulling the strings clandestinely? It's a conspiracy, I tells ya! Using our countries as guinea pigs!

Mounk denies a conscious conspiracy. The mass migration is the result of unforeseen forces, and took everyone, even those in charge, by surprise. Fine. But now what? Are we (here in the US) doomed to follow many European countries into authoritarianism? (Usually this is dubbed "right-wing" authoritarianism, but that seems inaccurate.) Or can we look forward to increased animosity and possible violence between the incoming minorities and the intolerant majority?

Yeah, "probably" on the authoritarianism, "maybe" on the violence. But Mounk makes the argument that bad things need not happen. His arguments are straightforward; examples (good and bad) are drawn from worldwide history.

I'll just mention one bit: one chapter is titled "Demography isn't Destiny", and it's dedicated to debunking the notion that US population trends will inevitably relegate white people into permanent minority status, and that will, in turn, put the Democratic Party in the unassailable driver's seat, forever. Mounk calls this "the most dangerous idea in American politics"; it's a recipe for that resentment and possible violence mentioned above.

This book was written in 2022. Given the 2024 election results, his argument here seems prescient, especially given the inroads the GOP made into the people-of-color vote.

Now Mounk is a Democrat, and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that his "what is to be done" concluding chapter doesn't reflect that. Although (good news) he rejects the dreadfulness of race-conscious government programs, that just means they should be aimed at everyone. And paid for by taxes on (who else but) the rich. We need to improve the education of minorities? Why, just send their government schools more money!

This seems to be aimed at reassuring his fellow party cohort: hey, I'm still one of you! I wish he'd look at tearing down some of the government-created barriers to social mobility: mostly regulations that protect incumbent positions at the expense of strivers: land-use restrictions, occupational licensure, environmental rules, business regulation, etc. And (of course) a hefty dose of school choice policies, giving low-income families the freedom to escape dysfunctional government schools. (A freedom better-off families have always had.)