{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.023914968999114262, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0, 'mean_word_length': 5.510086455331412, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Why multiculturalism is not a threat to redistributive solidarity

Is multicultural diversity a threat to social solidarity, understood as an “attitude of mutual concern and mutual obligation”? And, if so, would multicultural diversity through this mechanism weaken the redistributive policies of the welfare state? These are the questions that this excellent edited volume addresses head-on. As such, it is highly relevant and much-needed both politically, as well as academically, because assumptions of a trade-off between multicultural diversity— open borders—and the sustainability of generous welfare provision continue to abound. More and more studies investigate this alleged trade-off in empirical terms. While the evidence is and remains inconclusive at the aggregate level, careful micro-level studies confirm negative links between exposure to immigration and welfare support only in very limited and specific circumstances (e.g. the direct competition for identical, non-elastic and scarce goods). Hence, assessing the theoretical and empirical foundations of a potential trade-off is highly important, not only to gauge the effects of immigration on welfare states, in terms of effect sizes and scope, but also to understand strategic dilemmas and choices for political parties and voters, and—most importantly—the effects on social solidarity. What makes this book so powerful is not only the questions it asks and the answers it provides, but also the careful, systematic and nonalarmist discussion of the relationships under investigation. Rather than proving a point, the editors and authors let the findings speak for themselves, embrace nuance and ambiguity, and manage to synthesize a complex set of findings into a set of clear conclusions. The key message this book conveys is that there is no robust evidence of a direct link between immigration or multiculturalist diversity and solidarity. While the absence of this link has been established before with regard to civic and political solidarity (values and rights), this book confirms it for redistributive solidarity. There is no clear trend of eroding redistributive solidarity—overall—and there is no direct (negative) link between multiculturalism and redistributive solidarity.