I think the best answer is the honest one: that it represents a contradiction in a world with mixed Socialist and Capitalist systems. It’s not an easy to surmount problem and is a valid one, though maybe not in the way Liberals believe.
By and large, the people “fleeing” Socialist states for the West were not peasants and workers. They were Professionals. If you were a common laborer, you were treated well in, say, East Germany and had little reason to leave. The people who were leaving were those just a bit higher up the scale.
“Professional” is a broad category in this case that could represent any “skilled laborer” or small business owners. Lawyers and doctors, grocers, cobblers, accountants, plumbers, whatever.
These are people who could live a good life in East Germany but could live a better life in the West. You can’t really blame them for this - they’re just furthering their material interests, which is what Marxism tells us they must do.
You don’t get the opposite - the poor fleeing to Socialist states - at least partially because Socialist states were not open to that sort of immigration. Socialist nations already oftentimes struggled to maintain full employment and rarely needed excess labor.
I think the best answer is the honest one: that it represents a contradiction in a world with mixed Socialist and Capitalist systems. It’s not an easy to surmount problem and is a valid one, though maybe not in the way Liberals believe.
By and large, the people “fleeing” Socialist states for the West were not peasants and workers. They were Professionals. If you were a common laborer, you were treated well in, say, East Germany and had little reason to leave. The people who were leaving were those just a bit higher up the scale.
“Professional” is a broad category in this case that could represent any “skilled laborer” or small business owners. Lawyers and doctors, grocers, cobblers, accountants, plumbers, whatever.
These are people who could live a good life in East Germany but could live a better life in the West. You can’t really blame them for this - they’re just furthering their material interests, which is what Marxism tells us they must do.
You don’t get the opposite - the poor fleeing to Socialist states - at least partially because Socialist states were not open to that sort of immigration. Socialist nations already oftentimes struggled to maintain full employment and rarely needed excess labor.