The Comedy Cellar: Live from the Table The Truth Behind the Groyper Panic and Immigration and Iran
Mar 12, 2026
Eric Kaufmann, a politics professor and demography researcher, offers data-driven analysis on immigration, populism, and online influencers. He discusses how rapid immigration fuels nationalist backlashes. He covers assimilation timelines, demographic shifts like falling fertility, social trust effects of diversity, and the real reach of influencer movements versus broader public opinion.
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Rapid Immigration Spurs Populist Backlash
- Rapid immigration spikes drive national populism because many people find fast cultural change disorienting.
- Eric Kaufmann links post-pandemic immigration surges in the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia to recent backpedaling by authorities and revived populist voting.
Treat Immigration Like A Negotiated Policy
- Do treat immigration policy like tax policy and negotiate an intermediate, democratically agreed rate to reduce repeated backlashes.
- Kaufmann recommends temporarily lowering migration so citizens feel costs and a healthy readjustment can follow.
Immigration Is Not A Permanent Aging Fix
- Low birth rates make immigration politically framed as necessity, but immigration is not a long-term fix for aging populations.
- Kaufmann notes immigrants age too, creating a rising dependence curve unless fertility rises, and religiosity predicts fertility best.