The borders of liberalism: both sides of the story

Alan Wolfe explains what a liberal society can offer to immigrants

WHEN it comes to whether and how to regulate the economy, Western societies have a history of liberal theory upon which to rely. But when it comes to immigration, there is not much in the liberal tradition to which they can turn. As a result, in both Europe and the United States, much of the debate over immigration is dominated by illiberal voices, the most insistent belonging to politicians who promise to protect the cultural integrity of the homeland against the presumed degeneracy of the alien.

Xenophobia is an illiberal response to immigration from the right, but multiculturalism represents much the same thing from the left. Many multicultural theorists, although committed to openness toward immigrants, are not committed to the openness of immigrants to their new home.