Germany's Revealing Contradiction

The German government has reported that 5,037,000 Germans are currently unemployed, bringing the country's jobless rate to 12.1%, a level not seen since the 1930s. Given this presumably lamentable circumstance, one might expect that the German government would seek to restrict the number of immigrants entering the country - and thus competing with Germans for already scarce jobs. But one would be wrong. More than seven million "foreign nationals" already live in Germany, and the new immigration law, which took effect on January 1, 2005, actually seeks to increase the number of "skilled workers" imported into the country. Media accounts offer no breakdown of the five million unemployed Germans - specifically, how many unskilled foreigners that figure includes. One suspects, however, that the percentage is high. Otherwise "skilled workers" would not be a pressing need.

Of course, Germany's demographic problems drastically overshadow a lack of "skilled workers" or even a high unemployment rate, and exposes the dubious thinking that framed the new immigration law. A German government web site explains:

With nine births per 1,000 inhabitants per year, Germany has one of the world's lowest birthrates. Too few children are being born too late. Most women are not having their first child until they are in their early thirties, and on average each woman only has 1.3 children. However, over the past years Germany's population has remained at a stable level. The deficit in births was compensated for by the immigration of some three million migrants. However, this low birthrate is coupled with an increasing life expectancy – currently 74.4 for a new-born boy and 80.6 for a new-born girl – which affects the age distribution of the population. It is projected that in 2030 the percentage of over-60-year-olds will have grown from today's figure of 23 to around 30 percent. The ratio between the proportion of the population in active employment and the percentage of pensioners is shifting in favor of those who have retired from the labor market.

In essence, the German population has been shrinking for the last several decades due to a frightening decline in the birth rate among native Germans. The population has remained stable only because the Germans have imported foreigners - a very large portion of those from the Turkey and the Middle East. While this may have temporarily hidden Germany's population collapse, it has produced an even worse set of problems for the Bundesrepublik. Many of the immigrants that Germany has welcomed, particularly Muslim immigrants, want no part of German culture and will never consider themselves German.

"The notion of multiculturalism has fallen apart," said opposition conservative leader Angela Merkel in a recent interview.

"Anyone coming here must respect our constitution and tolerate [ed: merely tolerate?] our Western and Christian roots."

It was just one of a chorus of voices, from left to right, among politicians and the media.

The debate centres largely around the trhee million strong Muslim community - most Turkish, with Bosnians making up the next largest group, followed by people of Arab origin.

It was sparked by the killing of Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh, and subsequent attacks in the Netherlands on Muslim and Christian sites.

Fears that something similar could happen in Germany were fanned by a TV broadcast in which a secret recording caught an imam telling worshippers that Germans would "burn in hell" because they were unbelievers.

Recall that the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington were planned by Muslim terrorists living and working in the picturesque Germany city of Hamburg. Like much of Europe, Germany has awakened to a self-induced nightmare. By failing to reproduce themselves, Europeans have placed the liberal societies they so prize in jeopardy; and by admitting so many culturally opposite foreigners to cover their falling numbers, the Europeans permitted the enemies of their liberal culture to multiply within their own homelands. Unfortunately, the Germans cannot see a way out of their predicament.

Japan faces demographic decline similar to Europe. However, the Japanese have never been so foolish as to import massive numbers of non-Japanese to try and compensate for their lack of fertility. Instead, they have turned to technology to compensate for fewer workers. Hence, Japan continues to be a high-tech powerhouse and faces no prospect of hostile foreigners corrupting their society from within. The Japanese have not imperiled their culture, nor their security. Japan should serve as a model for the West.