Content 21+ In his article The More, The Merrier, Eric Le Roy offers us a sweeping, grand, and altogether delightful eulogy for human progress. The gist of it, if I may summarize, is this: humanity is a snarling, territorial beast, doomed to repeat its primal mistakes forever—so much so that any attempt at improvement is as futile as trying to teach calculus to a goldfish. Immigration, in particular, is framed as a sort of slow-motion invasion, an inevitable catalyst for societal decay, much like lead pipes in ancient Rome or reality television in modern America.
It is a compelling vision, and one that, if taken to its logical extreme, should have us all immediately withdrawing to isolated, self-sustaining bunkers in the woods, fiercely defending our turnips from any passerby who dares to ask for directions. Because if Eric is right, if humanity is indeed a species incapable of rising above its tribal instincts, then there is really only one rational solution: we should stop pretending to be civilized altogether.
Let’s just embrace it! No more passports, no more nations—just an all-out, no-holds-barred, Mad Max-style battle for territory, where every small town and village declares independence and defends its borders with trebuchets and suspiciously large dogs. You say you’re from three miles away? Blasphemy! You must be an invader! Prepare for exile, preferably by catapult.
Now, in fairness, Eric does not explicitly advocate for this level of bedlam (though, I admit, it would make for highly entertaining reality television). But his argument does rest on the foundation that humans are, at their core, fundamentally incapable of integrating outsiders without hostility. And yet, curiously, history suggests otherwise.
Let’s take a quick look at the cold, hard numbers:
- The United States, often the poster child for both immigration success and hysteria, has historically absorbed over 100 million immigrants since the late 19th century. And while one might assume such an influx would have reduced the country to smoldering rubble, it appears to have resulted instead in, well… the United States.
- New York City, where over 37% of the population is foreign-born, continues to function. It has yet to be overrun by roving bands of marauders demanding that bagels be replaced with unfamiliar breadstuffs.
- Germany, which received over 1 million refugees in 2015 alone, still produces high-end engineering, world-class research, and—perhaps most miraculously—efficient public transportation.
And yet, time and time again, we hear the same warnings: “This time, it’s different!” Immigration, we are told, is a ticking time bomb, a force so powerful and destructive that entire civilizations will crumble under the weight of an extra 2% increase in population diversity. Never mind that every single major cultural and technological advancement in history came from the messy, chaotic mixing of people and ideas. Never mind that the Golden Age of Islam, the European Renaissance, and the Industrial Revolution were all fueled by migration, trade, and the reckless swapping of both goods and philosophies. No, no—this time, we swear, it’s different.
And if you’re still unconvinced, let’s take Eric’s Sweden as the Shithouse of the Universe™ example. Sweden, according to the more excitable voices of anti-immigration rhetoric, has become an ungovernable war zone, presumably resembling some dystopian sci-fi wasteland where the only currency is canned beans and fear. And yet, when we examine the actual data:
- Sweden remains one of the wealthiest nations per capita in the world ($59,000 GDP per capita).
- It ranks fourth on the Human Development Index, ahead of both the UK and the United States.
- Crime rates have not skyrocketed—yes, certain urban areas have seen rises in gang activity, but overall crime remains lower than in many comparable Western nations.
So what do we do with this information? Well, one option is to ignore it entirely. It’s much more fun, after all, to imagine that Sweden is on the brink of collapse, its once-orderly IKEA stores now resembling post-apocalyptic ruins where feral children battle over the last remaining BILLY bookcase. But alas, reality refuses to comply with such thrilling narratives.
And this, dear reader, is the real problem with the argument that immigration inevitably leads to collapse. It assumes that societies are delicate little sandcastles, forever teetering on the brink of destruction, when in fact history shows the opposite: societies are remarkably resilient, adaptable, and stubbornly innovative. Yes, change is uncomfortable. Yes, immigration brings challenges. But so did the invention of the printing press, the rise of industrialization, and the creation of the internet. And yet, somehow, we managed.
So what do we do? Do we close the doors, lock the windows, and hope that the world outside just politely goes away? Or do we do what humans have always done—adapt, evolve, and turn challenges into opportunities?
I, for one, remain hopeful that we will choose the latter. Because while it is undeniably true that humans have an unfortunate tendency to be territorial, fearful, and occasionally violent, they are also curious, inventive, and capable of astonishing progress.
And if you don’t believe me, consider this: there was a time when people were terrified of printed books. The clergy warned that widespread literacy would destroy civilization. And yet, today, we live in a world where books, rather than heralding the apocalypse, are largely used as coffee table decorations in overpriced apartments.
So yes, immigration is a challenge. Yes, societies sometimes struggle with change. But history has shown, again and again, that human civilization is not a fragile flower waiting to be crushed by the weight of an extra few million people—it is a tenacious, ever-adapting, problem-solving machine.
And that is why, despite all the doom and gloom, I remain optimistic. Not because I believe in utopia, but because I believe in history. And history, my friends, is relentlessly on the side of progress.
