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The historical establishment of Israel is presented as a playbook for political conquest through demographics. A group can immigrate into a region, grow its numbers until it becomes a dominant political class, and eventually assume control, a strategy potentially being replicated by other groups in modern nations.
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In just over 30 years, Tehran's population exploded from 500,000 to nearly 5 million. This rapid, oil-fueled urbanization overwhelmed infrastructure and created a vast, alienated urban class, forming a fertile ground for revolutionary discontent.
The rise of populism is better understood as a resurgence of humanity's innate "groupish" and tribal instincts. This regression is amplified by a modern cocktail of social media, rapid migration, and weakening political institutions, making it a deeper cultural and psychological phenomenon than just an economic one.
High immigration allows politicians to report positive overall GDP growth, creating an illusion of prosperity. However, this masks the reality that per-capita GDP has been stagnant or declining, meaning the average citizen is getting poorer. It is framed as a political tool to obscure a failing economy.
The transition to a "minority majority" country, where the formerly dominant ethnic group falls below 50% of the population, is a powerful historical indicator of civil war. This pattern is not unique to the US or white populations; it has been observed globally, including in India, suggesting a deep-seated human response to demographic shifts.
Openness is a tool for dominance, not just a moral virtue. The Romans became powerful by being strategically tolerant, quickly abandoning their own methods when they found better ones elsewhere. This allowed them to constantly upgrade their military, technology, and knowledge from conquered peoples.
Resistance to mass immigration is often mislabeled as racism when it's a defense of cultural uniqueness. The core fear is that blending all cultures creates a bland 'beige' monolith, ultimately allowing the most aggressive and cohesive incoming culture to dominate.
China's strategy for Taiwan likely mirrors its 2019 Hong Kong takeover. Instead of a direct military assault, Beijing will use political influence, espionage, and legislative changes to create administrative bridges, making any physical resistance illegal before troops ever move in.
While promoting tolerance, mass immigration risks erasing unique cultural differences, creating a homogenous world. In this "beige" environment, the most cohesive and aggressive culture with high birth rates and a clear agenda will inevitably become dominant.
Trump is not an isolated phenomenon but a vessel for a broader, international right-wing movement. His talking points on immigration and 'special operations' mirror the language used by authoritarians like Viktor Orbán in Hungary and Vladimir Putin in Russia. This global playbook is tested in 'laboratories of autocracy' worldwide before being deployed in the U.S.
Quoting David Frum, Harris argues that open societies must confront the 'paradox of tolerance'—whereby tolerance can be exploited by illiberal forces to subvert a society from within. A failure by mainstream liberals to manage immigration and assimilation responsibly creates a political vacuum that authoritarian figures will eagerly fill.
