Since Derb brought up Sweden and Japan and other relatively homogeneous closed societies where the welfare state continues to thrive, I thought I might remind folks of the column I wrote on how immigration fights socialism. column I wrote on how immigration fights socialism. My basic point is that economic redistribution rankles when the benefits go to another tribe. If you keep the redistribution among your own kind, you are likely to have a higher tolerance for it. This is one reason why the nations of Europe tolerated huge social safety nets for so long and are now talking about unravelling them as their societies become more diverse and, hence, their incomes start going to Arabs and North Africans. Just a theory I have.