The Psychological Emigrant

Great Britain has a high standard of living, full employment, political freedom, womb-to-tomb medical care, and as much peace as most nations in the world. Why should a Briton want to leave home? Yet when the Gallup poll (published last week) asked, "If you were free to do so, would you like to go and settle in another country?", 41% of the Britons polled answered yes, and another 12% said they were not sure.

This is no sudden mood. In 1948, when Britain was still suffering from war-spawned austerity, 42% of Britons answered yes to the same question. When 35% were still saying yes in 1950, many thoughtful Britons concluded that sentiment on emigration was gradually returning to normal. Today, in the aftermath of the Suez debacle, emigration sentiment is once again on the rise.

According to Gallup's analysis, the wishful emigrants spread across all levels of politics, income and education. A recent poll of Cambridge undergraduates in their last two years showed that among men students 11.3% had definitely decided to go, and another 27.6% were seriously considering leaving. Among women students, 34.1% had made up their minds to leave. Most favored goals: Canada 39%, Africa 10.5%, the U.S, and Australia about 8% each. Said one student: "I want to go to a country where new ideas are needed, so that I can give something to that country rather than just live off it."

Except during the Depression years, actual migration from Britain has always been high (an average 150,000 a year), but the vast majority of those who now say they want to go will never leave. They will go on, as now, behaving on the job as if "there's no future in it"; they have given up hope of making for themselves in Britain the kind of life they want. In short, the main limiting factor on opportunity in Britain's welfare state is that so many of its people believe there is no real opportunity. The debilitating mood of the psychological emigrant pervades the country.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.