On Immigration And Refugees

The text discusses the ethical implications of immigration and refugees, and criticizes the current British policy of treating these people poorly. It argues that the state has a duty to protect refugees from harm, and that this duty should be taken seriously even if the refugees are not citizens of the state.

This text provides an insight into the major contemporary issue of immigration and refugees. The initial part of the book provides a critique of the policy concerning these people in Britain, particularly the treatment of those fleeing political persecution. The volume goes on to offer some philosophical reflections on the consequences of these policies. Review: A lucid philosophical discussion of the ethical principles at stake in matters of immigration and asylum, and a sharp review of the historical ways they have been manhandled.. - New Left Review ... a timely and useful contribution to the debate...a clear, readable and coherent argument.. - Humanist News ... makes the case meticulously...Sir Michael's narrative gains power from its cold-blooded, uncolored language...a terrible indictment of modern British immigration policy.. - The Economist This book, passionately argued and shot through with a sense of urgency, is Dummett's timely contribution to the debate.. an invigorating read. -Lena Barrett ... acutely spots a blank in the mentality of earlier political philosophers who 'have seldom asked what obligations a state has towards those who are not its citizens' and argues powerfully against those who 'hold that we have at most only negative duties towards strangers: that, for example, we may not kill them, but have no duty to protect them from being killed.' He exposes the fraudulence of the phrase 'bogus asylum-seeker'....It would be rash to expect so decent a voice will get much of a hearing. After all, selfishness is not only admired but encouraged all around us....'. - The Evening Standard