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Meet Europe's Left Nationalists -'A momentous turn against free movement in Europe'
Adler, David
http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article47484Date Written: 2019-01-10 Publisher: Europe Solidiare Sans Frontières Year Published: 2019 Resource Type: Article Cx Number: CX23218 The rise of leaders like Sahra Wagenknecht and Jean-Luc Mélenchon marks a momentous turn against free movement in Europe-at the expense of immigrants. Abstract: ----- Excerpts: The rise of these left-nationalist leaders marks a momentous turn against free movement in Europe, where it has long been accepted as a basic right of citizenship. Forget The Communist Manifesto's refrain that "the working men have no country"; the new face of the European left takes a radically different view. Free movement is, to quote Wagenknecht, "the opposite of what is left-wing": It encourages exploitation, erodes community, and denies popular sovereignty. To advocate open borders, in this view, is to oppose the interests of the working class. By popularizing this argument, these new movements are not just challenging migration policy in Europe; they are redefining the boundaries of left politics in a dangerous, and inopportune, direction. Over the next few decades, global migration is set to explode: By 2100, up to 1 million migrants will be applying to enter the European Union each year. Subject Headings |