Folks often make elaborate claims about their own cultures’ values, and equally elaborate claims about the cultures of people they are afraid of.
These claims may not always be well-founded or intellectually honest.
The survey might get more honest answers by asking questions like, “Do you believe that immigration to your country threatens you, benefits you, or …?”
“Do you believe that immigration to your country threatens you, benefits you, or …?”
This question will not help much. Also, a very simple immigration-related question was included in the last survey, but it was just about “immigration” in general being good or not. And of course, most people here on LW, unless they want to identify themselves as some racist xenophobes, will answer to such a question with “yes, it’s a good thing”. There is a social pressure to answer like that, in case the word “immigration” is mentioned without being any more specific. So such a question will not get us any useful information about how the members of this community feel about the topic.
This is why it would be better to include a scale. Not just “immigration” but “how much immigration”?
No one but the utmost bigot will say that 5 people from a foreign culture coming to a town of 20000 will have negative consequences. However, no one but the most gullible would believe that 50000 people from a foreign culture coming to a town of 20000 in a very short time interval will not lead to any problems, or that they would integrate instead of forcing their own values on the population.
Folks often make elaborate claims about their own cultures’ values, and equally elaborate claims about the cultures of people they are afraid of.
These claims may not always be well-founded or intellectually honest.
The survey might get more honest answers by asking questions like, “Do you believe that immigration to your country threatens you, benefits you, or …?”
This question will not help much. Also, a very simple immigration-related question was included in the last survey, but it was just about “immigration” in general being good or not. And of course, most people here on LW, unless they want to identify themselves as some racist xenophobes, will answer to such a question with “yes, it’s a good thing”. There is a social pressure to answer like that, in case the word “immigration” is mentioned without being any more specific. So such a question will not get us any useful information about how the members of this community feel about the topic.
This is why it would be better to include a scale. Not just “immigration” but “how much immigration”?
No one but the utmost bigot will say that 5 people from a foreign culture coming to a town of 20000 will have negative consequences. However, no one but the most gullible would believe that 50000 people from a foreign culture coming to a town of 20000 in a very short time interval will not lead to any problems, or that they would integrate instead of forcing their own values on the population.