Globalisation has meant an increasing demand for technical professions due to knowledge based economies. Juan Enriquez argues that these workers have little incentive to remain in backward countries and instead compete on the global labor market for remuneration and opportunities. Nation-states have changed their citizenship laws to accommodate them. These labor flows concentrate wealth, but also limits the actions of the nation-state as these labor skills are very mobile.
From the Untied States of America*:
Among the most talented and mobile, single citizenship is rapidly eroding. Eighty-nine countries now allow dual citizenship. Governments grant these rights because they want to attract capital, skilled workers, the young and talented.Enriquez argues that a result of this globalised labor market is that it forces heterogeneous wealth distribution. He uses the example that 41% of homes that cost over one million are in California and Cambridge, Massachusetts has 10% of single family homes costing over the million mark (the book was published in 2005). From personal experience, Northern Virginia has another concentration of wealth with Loudoun County having the highest per household income in the United States. Those dynamics are no stranger to Australia either, especially Sydney. Enriquez' thesis is that large disparities - whether economic, wealth, knowledge or education - grow between ethnic, regional or religious groups then it puts pressure on the nation-state to fragment. Enriquez also argues that if nations don't restructure to attract and accommodate the global labor pool of knowledge workers then those workers will take advantage of their mobility and go to regions of great opportunity; domestic or international. Ohio in the US is probably a good example of that effect as is India and its roving technical workforce. Australia was pretty late to nationalism preferring the open-ended relationship of the British Empire and Commonwealth often to its own detriment. One of the good aspects of the multi-ethnic empires, including the British Empire , was the easy going attitude to citizenship. It was not until the 1980s that Australia passed legislation stopping British subjects that were not nationalised from voting. Even then it was grandfathered in. If Australia wants to put virtual cement shoes on the knowledge workers that come here, it would do worse than politically engaging them with enfranchisement with a work visa or permanent residency. *btw don't buy the book. It is an eyesore and is laid out horribly.
