It is not a dislike for nation-states that I make that argument. It is more individual and personal one. The importance of the state can be seen more at an organizational level at the social and global levels. The state has its upsides and downsides. And I agree with you, albeit in a different way, that states have a lot of responsibility of managing public affairs in the interest of society. The problem is that states come in all shapes and sizes and most of them are beholden to dominant interests, along with their own legitimacy and survivability challenges. In this context when people (read classes and castes etc.) are trampled by the state it is difficult to justify its existence uncritically and if they fail on the functional expectations of the role of the state, such as providing employment, security, etc. why shouldn't people seek to survive in better conditions, elsewhere? That said, statistically speaking most people do not migrate, some villages, regions, countries have a greater propensity to send people abroad. And with economic integration certain classes tend to enjoy significantly the benefits of mobility. It is from this point that I believe people should have a right to move. When they move they follow existing national laws and mores but also act to change them by their visible presence.
Cheers, Anthony On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 2:47 PM, Matthijs Krul <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Anthony D'Costa schreef: > >> I have to disagree on the last point on mass immigration. Mobility should >> be a birth right, within and outside borders (and borders of the periphery >> themselves are an unfortunate product of imperialism), although managed >> flows of people is generally preferable by most constituencies. Admittedly, >> mass immigration from a particular place is a reflection of failure of the >> national economy. But the ability of nations (governments) to transform >> their economy is easily said than done. So why not make it easier for >> people to find ways to seek a better life, whatever that might, instead of >> erecting barriers on left-nationalist grounds. As far as impact of >> remittance income is concerned it is generally positive but there is the >> danger of undue dependence of such incomes on the economic vagaries of the >> receiving countries. >> -- >> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> Anthony P. D'Costa >> Professor of Indian Studies >> Asia Research Centre >> Copenhagen Business School >> Porcelaenshaven 24, 3 >> DK-2000 Frederiksberg >> Denmark >> Email:ad.int <http://ad.int>@cbs.dk <http://cbs.dk> >> Ph: +45 3815 2572 >> Fax: +45 3815 2500 >> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> pen-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >> >> > I have heard this sentiment before, and I agree with the principles - I > think to any socialist, the idea of nation-states and their primacy should > at least at some level be abhorrent. The thing is that this all too often > leads to the following reasoning: 'nation-states shouldn't exist, therefore > we will act as if they already don't exist, and therefore we will ignore the > real effects of nation-states' functioning or nonfunctioning on the people > who live there'. Especially when it comes to immigration this is often seen. > Nonetheless I think that despite nation-states as such being a non-socialist > concept, it is still preferable to people in the world as it is today and as > it will be in the foreseeable future that we have better nation-states > rather than worse ones. And for this reason the real impact of immigration > on the various nation-states involved should be taken into account, whether > we like nation-states or not. > > Matthijs Krul > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > -- xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Anthony P. D'Costa Professor of Indian Studies Asia Research Centre Copenhagen Business School Porcelaenshaven 24, 3 DK-2000 Frederiksberg Denmark Email:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Ph: +45 3815 2572 Fax: +45 3815 2500 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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