War I effectively employed the ethnicncard against the oppositional empires.)nThe contemporary litany of racial/culturalnconflicts—^Northern Ireland, Lebanon,nCyprus, Nigeria, India—bespeaks thenfragile nature of culturally segmentednsocieties. The cement that binds suchnbased on ethnicity? It is conceivable thatndelinquent immigration enforcementncould result in a nation within the nationn—^but it would be a nation inhabited bynpersons of limited skill, haUing from annarea under hostile control, and claimingnpreferred treatment based on conces-n”Tlic nuclear .L-andcnha)ism that comes through . . . doesn’t shout for attention sonmuch as scream bloody murder.”n—The Progressiven”A good many books about nuclear weapons have been published this tall. WithnFjiough Shoi’els is one of the best.”n—New Yorkn”Read this book. It is … for real.”nsocieties can easily disintegrate. Policiesnand demands that encourage ethnicnchauvinism—^the building of a nationnwithin a nation—and promote ethnicndivisiveness can contribute to that disintegration.nPluralistic societies are fragilenby nature; a small amount of tamperingncan be devastating.nImmigration, which is not unrelatednto cultural conflict, offers a rich vineyardnof opportunity for purposes of destabilization.nControlled immigration adjustednto a society’s resources and needs cannbe beneficial. Laissez-faire immigration,nhowever, can contribute directly to destabilization.nMarxist-Leninists recognizenthis and impose strict immigrationemigrationncontrols wherever they arenin power. Elsewhere they argue fornlaissez-faire immigration in the name ofncompassion. They demand open frontiers,npresent immigration as a humanrightsnquestion, and imply that there isnsome brutality in policing one’s borders.nLest immigration contribute to destabilization,na society must ask some pertinentnquestions: (1) Are the immigrantsnmotivated to be assimilated culturaUy;n(2) What is the politics of thefr nativenland and what is thefr relationship to it;n(3) What is thefr education level, givennthe obsolescence of unskilled labor innthe industrial societies; and (4) Willnthey be likely to claim a preferred statusn—Village Voicensions previously granted due to domesticnpolitics.nfronically, many of the same Americansnwho urge preferred treatment based onnethnic claim also urge open borders—nperhaps to increase the number of preferrednclaimants. Often the same peoplenwho assert that the unemployed wantnwork but that the system has failed, proclaimnthat the “undocumented workers”nare taking jobs no American wants. Oftennthe same people who would toleratenMarxist-Leninist regimes in CentralnAmerica would give us a large domesticnpopulation with ties to that world. Manynpeople who bemoan the U.S. flag as ansymbol of neocolonialism would recruitnmillions to live domestically under thatnflag. Psychologists will have to discern ifnsuch notions are the result of naivete ornself-loathing.nAnother domestic destabilizationnopportunity relates to the productivitynquestion. Every system must maintain ancertain level of economic productivitynto sustain popular support. Certain goodsnand services must be provided. Consequently,nin revolutionary situations rebelsnoften burn fields and destroy industries.nIn nonrevolutionary situations thenapproach can be more subtle. Productivityncan be undermined in less obviousnways. The productive sector of the pop­nnnulation can be demoralized and penalized.nInsistence on equality of resultsncan give productive and nonproductivenpersons simUar rewards. This insistence,nof course, is in the name of compassionnand humanism, but the end result is destructive.nWhy discipline oneself andnwork toward exceUence when the undisciplinednor indolent reap the same rewards?nWhat happens to productivitynwhen the incentive structure is undermined?nGovernment policy can be annespeciaUy efiective weapon in an onslaughtnon productivity. It can fosternpolicies that promote equality of result.nIt can sponsor reward systems basednupon nonproductive criteria. It can expandnits own bureaucratic web at thenexpense of a productive private sector.nIt can enact rules and regulations thatnmake it difficult, if not impossible, fornbusinesses to thrive and compete. Thenend result is a decline in the quantitynand quality of goods and services. Thenproductivity level declines and hostilencritics blame the system. The goose thatnlaid the golden egg is sacrificed, and thennaive wait for new eggs to drop mfraculouslynfrom the heavens.nThe education of the young can benSend for your complimentaryncopy of The Rockford Institute’snAnnual Report featuringnthe work of the eminentnartist and designer WarrennChappell.nMali this coupon to:nThe Rockford Instituten934 North Main StreetnRockford, IL 61103nNamenAddressnCity State ZipnAugust 1983n