Human history is littered with bridges and walls, physical and ideological. Through the centuries, the pendulum has swung between preferences for either walls or bridges, dictated by ideology, religion, politics, fear, intolerance, exclusivity, isolationism and imperialism. Migration, driven by need and greed, has been another factor impacting on borders and changing the face of the world: in many instances migrants from Europe today control previously native lands in the Americas and other parts of the world, outnumbering the native inhabitants. Depending on how you define progress, these migrations did lead to progress in many areas. However, the impact on indigenous traditions, structures, ways of living and the environment were huge and devastating. Self-serving colonialism, contributing to migration, also left deep scars in the social fibre of former colonies. The new world order, introduced after the Second World War, accelerated the process of globalisation, making the world ...
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