Migration Myths and Global Unicity: A Critical Analysis

De Haas's Argument on Migration Myths

De Haas's argument about migration is an aggregate of seven myths. It starts with the claim of unprecedented migration, where migrants all over the world flee war zones, persecution, or economic instability with devastating consequences. To support this, De Haas provides a second point: poverty and misery are the root causes of labor migration, often exacerbated by corrupt governments that neglect their people.

This leads to the third element: the belief that changes in development policies, development assistance, and trade liberalization can stop migration. However, he argues that unstable polities will eventually provoke a brain drain, where the best and brightest of a particular country will find a suitable host where they can be greatly rewarded for their work.

Another factor is remittances, where the money migrants send to their countries is mainly spent on conspicuous consumption instead of being invested for cyclical profit. Another element is the orientation of migrants towards their countries of origin, which he sees as an indication of the lack of social and economic integration in the receiving societies. He tends to counter-argue this with his last point, stating that states can control or stop migration by simply organizing and disciplining their laws and policies.

De Haas argues that the relationship between migration and development should have a common, mutual ground. Migration tends to be a constituent part of development processes and an independent factor that affects development in both sending and receiving countries. Thus, it is advised to encourage more open and flexible, rather than restrictive, migration policies.

Tomlinson's Argument on Global Unicity

Tomlinson's argument of unicity is both quite interesting and, in many ways, an expected process nowadays. He describes connectivity as being globally encompassing, implying "Global Unicity." This can be interpreted as a sense that, for the first time in history, the world is becoming a single social and cultural setting.

It is interesting because, unlike articles that address globalization and the effects of a world with increased globalism and interconnectivity, unicity addresses a further step in globalization that takes society closer to a utopian approach. Certainly, Tomlinson does not assume a world with prevailing unicity will be perfect, but rather will continue to show differences, discrepancies, and disagreements. However, the mere idea that unicity describes a world in which cultural and social differences are shared on the same stage is becoming increasingly a reality.

This is an expected process nowadays as people migrate more often and with fewer restrictions than at other times in history. They travel more easily for leisure and learn about others quickly through media and the web, thus creating a sense of a world citizen. This is enabled through the increase in ease of access to specific cultural and social activities in a multitude of countries throughout the world, thus making a new home halfway around the world a seamless process.