Inequality and Immigration

Paper Summary:

This paper argue that inequality today can be seen represented primarily in immigration, that has been exploited for the purposes of the elite of society. The paper provides a theoretical exploration of inequality and then explores how inequality manifests itself in terms of immigration in Canada. It demonstrates how this manifestation of inequality serves the purposes of the powerful, usually leaders of business and various industries, in Canadian society as a means of controlling and dividing the labor market.

From the Paper:

"This insight is important, as it allows us to understand the critical importance of vulnerability in the role of the immigrants in western economies. From this point of view, it is of critical importance that immigrants are both politically and economically vulnerable and dependent, for this ensures the docility of the immigrant labor force, as well as its potential to be used against indigenous labour in countries such as Canada. Through this process of "divide and rule" business interests influence the direction of government policies in areas such as the recognition of academic qualifications from non-Western sources. By the denial of recognition of these qualifications, business leaders ensure that the immigrant work force will remain docile and vulnerable to the influence of business for as long as possible. While we may acknowledge that immigrant entrepreneurs often succeed despite these barriers, this success does not deny the reality of the barriers themselves, and how they are used to foster inequality and the vulnerability of the immigrant work force in countries such as Canada."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bernstein, Nina. "Immigrant Entrepreneurs Shape a New Economy." (February 6, 2007), 29-33.
• Clemons, Steven, and Lind, Michael. "How to Lose the Brain Race." (April 10, 2006), 9-10.
• Lamont, Michele and Fournier, Marcel. "Excerpts from Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality." In Course Reader: Social Stratification. Ed. Hira Singh. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 1987, 13-30.
• Singh, Hira. "Weapons of the Weak, Weakness of the Weapons: Canadian Farmworkers' Movement." In Course Reader: Social Stratification. Ed. Hira Singh. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2000, 199-226.
• Singh, Hira. "The Political Economy of Immigrant Farm Labour: A Study of East Indian Farm Workers in British Columbia." In Course Reader: Social Stratification. Ed. Hira Singh. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 1987, 227-240.

More papers on Inequality and Immigration:

• Term Paper # 132731 : "Inequality and Immigration"
• Term Paper # 104771 : "Globalization and Immigration in Canada"
• Research Paper # 106197 : "International Trade on Income Inequality"

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