G'morning Bbo,

 MM>> And immigrant groups tend to work harder than residents -
 BK>>  Which is of what value to the residents?
 MM> Economically, yes - appreciated, not always...
 BK>  Is it of value economically? In the short run, maybe. In the
 BK>  long run it pulls everyone down to the same level.

Err ... as opposed to stagnating in royal isolation ?

 MM>> "in", share the local work habits and urgencies and accept
 MM>> the mythical things that "can't be done".
 BK>>  Or things that shouldn't be done.
 MM> Immigrants are never really `foreign' - "should'nt be done"
 MM> is usually more of a perception than a hard rule...
 BK>  Shouldn't be done is very often the common wisdom derived from
 BK>  doing it and screwing things up royally.

Generally, we're in trouble here - and going specific has variable 
outcomes depending on the examples sampled...

 MM>> The more groups a country gets,  the less reaction is
 MM>> generated; in Australia and New Zealand after WW2,  both
 MM>> populations had real trouble getting to grips with the
 MM>> "hard and earnest" workings of newcomers...
 BK>>  Eventually it would be nice to actually enjoy the results of
 BK>>  generations of work.
 MM> True - but it seems not that easy;
 BK>  That's my point.

 MM> some of NZ's first
 MM> settlers are still resisting every subsequent wave - but
 MM> are first in line to revel in the new ways of the
 MM> newcomers...
 BK>  When people here ask how it would have turned out if the Indians
 BK>  had had the sort of immigration restrictions I favor, I point
 BK>  out that it would have been much better for the Indians.

Only if they had been able to keep abreast of foreign developments 
in the economic and technological fields that enabled enforcement 
of their immigration restrictions. 

 BK>  I say the only reason for allowing immigration here is for the
 BK>  cultural advantages.
 MM> and most shops good carry a `made in Asia' label.
 BK>  Which is one of the downsides.

Seems to me that we're dealing with a ball of wax here that 
actually has several major facets that could be wrapped up in 
concerns such as...

1.  The tribes of man are wonderful diverse culturally and ought 
to be preserved...

2.  The discoveries of man scratch at the fabric of the universe 
and ought to be encouraged...

3.  The spread of man pollutes this bit of that universe and ought 
to be better managed... (especially on the North Shore here in 
Auckland, New Zealand)...

4.  The discriminative learning of man that enabled 2 and 3 above 
ought to be suppressed in reference to the intermingling of man's 
tribes...

Seeing such discriminations laid out underlines for me the 
dangerous downside of our current economic wisdoms (economics is 
NOT and NEVER CAN BE a science) in laying efficient waste to 
Earth's non-renewable resources ...

After which prononcement,  I think I'll sneak back into my 
mountain cave and have a little lie down...

:-))  
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