In his wide-ranging argument about immigration, perennial wake-up-caller Buchanan finally seems a little despondent. The West is nearing death by drowning under a torrent of non-Westerners, the preponderance of whom, he insists, are just trying to earn more and live better than they did in their countries of origin. Some few are bad actors, but they would be manageable if the total number of immigrants were much smaller. Crucially exacerbating the crisis are attitudes fostered by original homelands and others neglected by host nations. For example, Mexico, with its permanent, inalienable citizenship and historic grudge against the U.S. for the latter’s Mexican War-facilitated purchase of half of Mexico’s original territory, actively discourages Mexicans in the U.S. from becoming U.S.-identified. Simultaneously, U.S. elites downplay “Americanization” in favor of transforming most of the populace into a low-wage workforce fragmented by linguistic and cultural differences. Look to Europe, which from Britain to Russia, Buchanan argues, is much nearer cultural collapse, to see the U.S. in 2050–or sooner.
