Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Daniel Markovits, Eric Kaufmann, and Thangam Debbonaire debate immigration and its economic impact.
Is immigration necessary to prevent economic collapse?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at iai.tv/video/dreams-of-the-future?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
“Without the hope that the future will be better than the past, we could not go on,” said philosopher John Gray. For much of recorded history, we had a clear idea of how a better future would look. Yet today, in the developed nations, it is becoming increasingly unknown what a positive vision for the future looks like. In 2022, an Ipsos study reported that optimism for the future was at a ten-year low. This is perhaps unsurprising given the media’s portrayal of the future is riddled with AI dystopia, climate disaster and economic decline. More importantly, Enlightenment visions of knowledge, progress, and equality have stagnated and been replaced by post-truth politics and global conflict. Even the promise of prosperity, which fuelled optimism for millennia, is questioned and challenged.
Should we give up on the notion that the future will be better than the past? Are we right to regard the pursuit of truth and progress as flawed? Or do we need new visions of the future to motivate, unite and direct us, and if so, what are they?
#politics #economics #immigration
Daniel Markovits is the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the author of the best-selling book, The Meritocracy Trap.
Thangam Debbonaire was Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol West 2015 – 2024 and a member of Keir’s Shadow Cabinet.
Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at The University of Buckingham and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=dreams-of-the-future
00:00 White identity, open borders, and economic collapse
01:10 Eric Kaufmann on the problems with a liberal immigration policy
02:56 Populism, demographic change, and a slower approach to immigration
04:56 Daniel Markovits: the world's richest nations are very close to massive economic crises
08:10 Thangam Debbonaire on colonialism, cultural integration, and the history of immigration
11:06 Thangam and Eric clash over "white identity"
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
Daniel Markovits, Eric Kaufmann, and Thangam Debbonaire debate immigration and its economic impact.
Is immigration necessary to prevent economic collapse?
With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at iai.tv/video/dreams-of-the-future?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
“Without the hope that the future will be better than the past, we could not go on,” said philosopher John Gray. For much of recorded history, we had a clear idea of how a better future would look. Yet today, in the developed nations, it is becoming increasingly unknown what a positive vision for the future looks like. In 2022, an Ipsos study reported that optimism for the future was at a ten-year low. This is perhaps unsurprising given the media’s portrayal of the future is riddled with AI dystopia, climate disaster and economic decline. More importantly, Enlightenment visions of knowledge, progress, and equality have stagnated and been replaced by post-truth politics and global conflict. Even the promise of prosperity, which fuelled optimism for millennia, is questioned and challenged.
Should we give up on the notion that the future will be better than the past? Are we right to regard the pursuit of truth and progress as flawed? Or do we need new visions of the future to motivate, unite and direct us, and if so, what are they?
#politics #economics #immigration
Daniel Markovits is the Guido Calabresi Professor of Law at Yale Law School and the author of the best-selling book, The Meritocracy Trap.
Thangam Debbonaire was Labour Member of Parliament for Bristol West 2015 – 2024 and a member of Keir’s Shadow Cabinet.
Eric Kaufmann is Professor of Politics at The University of Buckingham and Director of the Centre for Heterodox Social Science.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=dreams-of-the-future
00:00 White identity, open borders, and economic collapse
01:10 Eric Kaufmann on the problems with a liberal immigration policy
02:56 Populism, demographic change, and a slower approach to immigration
04:56 Daniel Markovits: the world's richest nations are very close to massive economic crises
08:10 Thangam Debbonaire on colonialism, cultural integration, and the history of immigration
11:06 Thangam and Eric clash over "white identity"
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
