The Global Age of Migration

[Unfortunately, the discussion about migration/immigration in America these days is highly political and toxic. The I.C.E. occupation of Minneapolis has triggered justified outrage and clearly, while two white people have been murdered, the masked thugs seem to be targeting brown and black people. [By the way, the masked I.C.E. agents have been referred to as “Gestapo-like” or like the “SS under Hitler”, but it must be pointed out that both the Gestapo and the SS did not wear masks]. What follows is a column about the larger context of migration and immigration in this, the Shift Age, much of it written 14 years ago in 2012]

As we are in the global stage of human evolution [I have written several columns on this in 2024 and 2025, more soon], we are in the global age of migration. I forecast this back in my 2012 book “Entering the Shift Age” :

“Unprecedented Migration

The Shift Age will be the greatest age of migration in history. A greater number of humans will migrate at some time of their lives than in any prior age. Some of this will be due to the fact that human population is larger than ever before. This means that the sheer number of us will be a factor. In addition, the percentage of the total population that will experience short to long-term migration will increase as well. This reality will ramp up in the Transformation Decade and really take root in the 2020s. Let’s look ahead to see why.

The global stage of human evolution mentioned in the last chapter point to all of us developing a greater sense of self in the braoder scheme of humanity. We will increasingly see ourselves as global citizens. I do already. I may have places I live, but my extensive travel, constant global connectivity, and thinking as a futurist make me feel that I am indeed a global citizen. In my travels I meet many people who also think of themselves as global citizens. They all have a place or two they can call home, but they think of themselves as “of this world” more than of a specific place. This way of looking at oneself in relationship to the world will increase every day.

The global economy is a primary driver of this way of thinking. I have met Americans who make monthly trips to China for business, and Chinese who do the same in reverse. I know Australians who attend dozens of meetings and conferences in the United States, Asia, and Europe. I have met Europeans who come to the United States every other week for business. Of course many of these people are in the upper strata of society or the business world. However, they are certainly not the only ones driving this migration to a global perspective.

People all around the world travel to other countries to work if their country is in deep recession or there are better wages elsewhere. The global reorganizational of 2007-2012 uprooted many people who realized that staying in their country was economically viable and went elsewhere. The current economic situation in Europe is a case in point, as many Portuguese have been jobless for so long they are leaving to go work in Brazil, which has a much more dynamic economy. Yet they are not necessarily moving there permanently. They could always migrate again.

Even when economic times are good, people will still migrate for jobs. We are in a global economy, which means that increasingly we will look globally for employment or contract work. Of course there will continue to be local economies. People have to live, eat and raise families and, for stability, that occurs in a place. Increasingly, however, people will choose the place they want to live or raise a family and then travel around the world doing work where work is……

[One of the three forces of the Shift Age is] Accelerating Electronic Connectedness is of course a primary enabler of this new migratory flow of people around the world. It allows us to see our loved ones every day via video no matter where we are (assuming a good connection, which is becoming more common). We are in constant communication. The only thing that needs to be factored in is time zones. I often say that a good hotel room with high-speed connectivity is a very productive place. I can communicate via email, chat or video, I can write, I can eat and then go give a speech. No one, except of course the live audience, really cares where I am”

The above words were written in 2012. Covid was in 2020-2021 and that ultimately amplified this sense of being connected, of being in a place but living as well in the screen reality that, increasingly is where we communicate, live and take our entertainment and education.

Americans are living under the Trump Administration, and the developing tariff driven isolation does not mean that this global age of migration is over. It means that it will start to bypass the U.S. with lots of bilateral trade agreements and ease of travel over borders other than the U.S. The Trump Administration is not seeing the global stage of human evolution and the resultant migration it will naturally cause. Except through the lens of obvious racism. Sad, and counter to the macro-trends and dynamics of the Shift Age and the 2020s.

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