Quote Originally Posted by xerxe View Post
They'll grow up and deal with their childish fears when their economies become noncompetitive due to aging populations. If you want a vision of how this is going to play out, look no further than Japan, a xenophobic country that has been forced to import vast amounts of migrant labour due to an aging workforce.
The main concern I have with the economic argument is that when automation rears its ugly head, which it likely will happen some time in this century. Wouldn't immigrants become no longer necessary? Heck, even a good chunk of the native population will become obsolete as well once automation comes in. A declining population due to low birth rates would become more of a boon at that point. As for Japan, I think only time will tell of their repercussions of not allowing many immigrants will do. It will be an interesting contrast to see how Japan, a 1st world homogeneous ethno-state does economically compared to most of Western Europe that is seeking to become more multicultural in the long term.