1171 



ATTRACTION OF REASON 



By offering a working environment of political stability and intel- 

 lectual freedom, by creating incentives through government sponsored 

 programs, and by facilitating entry into the country through specifi- 

 cally designed legislation, the United States and other advanced coun- 

 tries create a powerful "pull" force in the political sphere that attracts 

 the oppressed and disadvantaged, but willing and rriobile, emigrant 

 professional. In large measure, this force constitutes an appeal to 

 reason. 



Decision To Emigrate: A Comhination of '"'"Push/PuW Factors With 

 '"'•Push'''' the Dominant Force 

 The decision to emigrate is a highly personal act. The rationale can 

 be simple, like that of the scientist who preferred the United States 

 because "the physical range between me and my mother-in-law is 

 ideal'*; or of the French engineer at MIT who immigrated because 

 he "had little inclination to fight the Algerian War" and because he 

 "wanted to see the Grand Canyon and New York"; or the Dutch sci- 

 entist who found it difficult to explain his motivation, except that it 

 was "simply because we were curious and there was an opportunity to 

 come, so we came." ^" 



But more likely the rationale is very complex and is generally 

 affected by comparative considerations of "push/pull" factors de- 

 scribed above. Enrique Oteiza of the Instituto Torcuato Di Telia at 

 Buenos Aires described the process this way: "It is the comparison 

 of the potential migrant's situation in his country of origin with the 

 situation of persons with similar qualifications in the country of desti- 

 nation that enters into his decision." ^'® 



"Push/pull" factors thus intertwine. Conditions at home, ordinarily 

 accepted as inevitable, become intolerable when elsewhere in the same 

 field the situation by contrast is better. In a world environment of 

 rapidly improving communications, transportation, and awareness, a 

 comparative analysis can be made of coexisting realities and a decision 

 reached. The determining factor is reward — to the individual, in terms 

 of economic, cultural-intellectual, social, and sometimes political bene- 

 fit. Moral issues tend not to intrude strongly if at all, nor is the decision 

 necessarily perceived as a political act.^'" 



In the present state of world development, the advanced countries 

 offer the highest rewards. W. M. Besterman, a specialist on manjjower 

 problems, speaks of the "unfortunate discrepancy" that often exists 

 between the marginal social product of a skilled worker's labor and 

 the rewards for it. "In the developing countries," he continues, "the 

 marginal social product is great but the rewards are often Ioav; in 

 the advanced countries, the marginal social product is relatively small 

 but the rewards are great." He then concludes : "JNIigration flow is . . . 



^= Hawkes, op. clt., p. 24. 



^« Otelza, op. cit., p. 126. 



^'' James A. Wilson discusses the moral and political aspect of the decision In his article 

 on the emigration of British scientists. The "vast majority" of 85 percent of scientists 

 surveyed denied any sense of guilt about leaving the United Kingdom. Nor did they 

 perceive their decision as a political act. (p. 27) 



