Among the clearest signs of capitalism’s obsoleteness, at least from the standpoint of humanity, is the growing dislocation of people caused by its crisis, by the poverty, the wars and the hopelessness it creates. The story is horrific from beginning to end. Horrific circumstances at home prompt ever more people to flee. Horrific travel circumstances cause many of them to die. And when they do reach their destination, many are locked up and many are deported, while many others remain stuck on the lowest rungs of society. Most are considered “illegal”. Increasingly, they are terrorized by the state. The influx of refugees is used, like the threat of “terrorism,” as a lubricant for the militarization of society, a license for more state control and surveillance. It is also politically very useful. Power can be gained by scapegoating immigrants (especially Muslim immigrants who can be linked to terrorism); by giving even the poorest compatriots the satisfaction of standing above someone else.
If you can’t offer real hope to the masses, you have to give them at least that.
At least for now this strategy works, as the electoral victories of Trump, Orban and other creeps show. The success of the populist right has also pushed more traditional parties in Europe towards “tougher” policies on immigration.
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