Examining the Cynical Narrative of Asylum
There exists a particularly cynical way to market what is ostensibly a gesture of solidarity and progressivism: branding it as the right to asylum. The Spanish political and economic elites argue that opening our borders to hundreds of thousands of young individuals from Morocco is an act of kindness toward a much poorer nation. However, there is a more pragmatic and less romantic way to describe this phenomenon: we are effectively appropriating the human capital that Morocco desperately needs to escape its impoverished status.
Morocco is currently undergoing a silent demographic revolution. Its fertility rate, which for decades generated massive cohorts of youth, has plummeted to 1.97 children per woman, now below the replacement level. Simultaneously, the population is aging at an accelerated pace. While Morocco still possesses millions of capable workers today, this will not be the case in twenty years. Spain, on the other hand, is also experiencing aging demographics, with declining birth rates. Its strategic reliance on cheap and mass tourism inherently requires vast amounts of low-cost labor. To sustain this production model, which is supported by both the left and right, the solution seems conveniently straightforward: instead of Spain nurturing the biological growth of unskilled, low-wage labor, we allow Morocco to raise them. Once these individuals reach working age, they are subsequently imported to fill the labor gaps.
However, it is crucial to recognize that no nation has ever lifted itself out of poverty by indefinitely exporting its young population. Development necessitates a workforce of skilled professionals and workers; it fundamentally requires millions of individuals of productive age who can enhance productivity and support an aging adult population. Morocco will only have a limited demographic window to achieve this goal, making it paradoxical to assert that immigration is our form of assistance to Africa. While remittances do indeed support millions of families, a monetary transfer cannot replace the human capital that is being lost. Morocco is losing exactly what it requires for its development. What is labeled as solidarity is, in truth, a form of theft.
As reported by libertaddigital.com.
