American Behavioral Scientist
Volume 56, Issue 8, 2012, Pages 995-1007

Japan, the United States, and the Philosophical Bases of Immigration Policy (Editorial)

Skrentny J.D. , Gell-Redman M. , Lee J.J.G.
  • a Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego, 9500, Gilman Drive Mail Code 0548, La Jolla, CA 92093-0548, United States
  • b Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego, 9500, Gilman Drive Mail Code 0548, La Jolla, CA 92093-0548, United States
  • c Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, University of California, San Diego, 9500, Gilman Drive Mail Code 0548, La Jolla, CA 92093-0548, United States

Abstract

Immigration policy can be understood as variably conforming to three different philosophies: economic utilitarianism, which is geared toward maximizing wealth; rights liberalism, where policy creates legal protections of human dignity, including that of citizens and migrants alike; and communitarianism, where the preservation of the host state's national culture is paramount. The extent to which these philosophies guides policy depends on the policy in question and also on the state making the policy. Although both the United States and Japan face demographic and economic challenges in the future and make economic utilitarian policy for skilled immigrants, the United States' tendency toward free-market economic utilitarianism has prepared it for these challenges more so than Japan, where policies more in line with communitarian principles and an economic utilitarianism focused on the costs of low-skilled immigrants have created greater demographic challenges in the future. © 2012 SAGE Publications.

Author Keywords

Japan Labor Immigration policy philosophy demography United States

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84863569650&doi=10.1177%2f0002764212441783&partnerID=40&md5=e9a70a5ca3a771be6c604e77272375ba
DOI: 10.1177/0002764212441783
ISSN: 00027642
Cited by: 4
Original Language: English