Must it be the rest against the West

TLDR: A discussion of the key global problem of the final years of the 20th century on Jean Raspails neglected futuristic novel "The Camp of the Saints" which describes the pilgrimage of a million desperate Indians from Calcutta to the French Riviera to escape widespread famine and concentrates largely on the varied responses of the French as they decide how to deal with the advancing multitude as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: This article bases a discussion of the key global problem of the final years of the 20th century on Jean Raspails neglected futuristic novel "The Camp of the Saints" which describes the pilgrimage of a million desperate Indians from Calcutta to the French Riviera to escape widespread famine and concentrates largely on the varied responses of the French as they decide how to deal with the advancing multitude. The book thus highlights the existence of and relationship between an unbalance of wealth and resources and of demographic trends in the world. The authors of the article first heard of Raspails book during discussions about illegal migration such as that undertaken by 290 Chinese refugees by boat in 1993. Raspails novel was largely dismissed as a racist tract but he continued its theme by declaring in 1985 that the fast-growing non-European immigrant component of Frances population was endangering French cultures. Despite public outcries against such comments this remains a touchy subject in France and the debate is echoed by apologists on both side of the immigration issue in the US. However uncomfortable Raspails vision is and however repulsive readers find his language the demographic imbalances and disparities in wealth he describes exist. Although some theorists propose a "coming global boom" a close look at those who would benefit from the constant modernization of the world economy shows that the worlds winners will be coming out on top and the plight of the billions of poor is beyond their notice. The world must grapple with the problem of the emergence of demographic-technological "fault lines" are between fast-growing adolescent resource-poor undercapitalized and undereducated populations and technologically inventive demographically moribund and increasingly nervous rich societies. The only possible solution seems to be to simultaneously persuade political leaders to recognize the interconnected nature of our global problem and to use human ingenuity resourcefulness and energy to slow down or reverse worldwide demographic and environmental pressures. We may have to witness widespread societal destruction with repercussions that affect rich countries before anything is done.