Vice President Vance on Europe’s Head-On Rush to Civilisational Suicide, By Charles Taylor (Florida)
On March 15, 2025, Breitbart Europe published an article titled "JD Vance Warns Europe Against Embarking on 'Civilizational Suicide' Through Open Borders," reporting on U.S. Vice President JD Vance's critique of European policies during an interview with Fox News's Laura Ingraham:
Vance argued that Europe risks "civilizational suicide" by pursuing open border policies and imposing restrictions on free speech, which he sees as undermining Western liberties. He emphasized Europe's historical role as "the cradle of Western civilization," highlighting its cultural and religious ties to the United States, but warned that these foundations are threatened by current trends.
Vance specifically criticised Europe's decade-long "open borders agenda," claiming that many countries are "unable or unwilling" to control their borders, leading to what he described as a "border invasion." He linked this to the election of leaders like Donald Trump and various European figures, suggesting it reflects public backlash against unchecked migration. Additionally, he pointed to increasing authoritarian speech restrictions by "supposedly liberal governments" in the EU and UK, arguing that limiting citizens' ability to protest these policies erodes democratic values. Vance also noted a transatlantic impact, suggesting that lax European border controls allow unvetted migrants to use the continent as a "springboard" to America, affecting U.S. security.
This warning builds on Vance's earlier remarks at the Munich Security Conference in February 2025, where he identified internal threats—such as the erosion of liberties—over external ones like Russia or China as Europe's greatest challenge. He framed his critique as a call for Europe to address these issues to preserve its civilisation and maintain strong U.S. alliances, urging a shift away from what he sees as self-destructive globalist tendencies.
Garrett Hardin's "tragedy of the commons"
https://math.uchicago.edu/~shmuel/Modeling/Hardin,%20Tragedy%20of%20the%20Commons.pdf
is an economic concept where individuals, acting in their self-interest, overuse a shared resource, leading to its depletion or collapse to the detriment of all. Applied to open borders, this framework can support the argument that unrestricted migration risks "civilizational suicide" by overexploiting a society's finite resources—economic, cultural, and social—ultimately undermining the stability and identity of the host civilisation.
1.Economic Resources as a Commons: A nation's welfare systems, healthcare, housing, and job markets can be viewed as common resources, sustained by taxpayers and intended primarily for citizens who have contributed to their upkeep. Open borders, by allowing unrestricted entry, invite an influx of individuals who may draw on these resources without prior contribution. For example, if millions enter and access subsidised services, the system could become strained—housing prices rise (as noted in studies cited by The Economist, where a 1 percent migration increase correlates with a 0.5-3 percent rise in rents or house prices), welfare budgets balloon, and native workers face wage suppression due to increased labour supply. Over time, this overuse could deplete the economic commons, leaving insufficient support for the original population and fostering resentment or collapse of public trust in governance.
2.Cultural Cohesion as a Commons: Culture—shared values, language, and traditions—functions as a societal commons that binds a civilisation together. Open borders, particularly when migration is rapid and unvetted, can introduce large populations with differing norms, potentially diluting or clashing with the host culture. If integration is not prioritised or feasible due to scale, this risks eroding the cultural unity that underpins social stability. For instance, Vance's reference to "culturally incompatible" migrants in Germany suggests a scenario where the influx exceeds a society's capacity to assimilate, leading to parallel communities rather than a cohesive whole. The tragedy emerges as the cultural commons is overstretched, weakening the shared identity that defines a civilisation.
3.Social Trust and Security as a Commons: Public safety and trust in institutions are collective goods maintained by adherence to laws and norms. Open borders can strain this commons if inflows include individuals who bypass vetting, increasing crime or security risks (e.g., Vance's concern about migrants using Europe as a stepping stone to the U.S.). Historical examples, like Europe's 2015 migrant crisis, saw reported spikes in crime in some areas, though data varies widely. If unchecked entry overburdens policing or judicial systems, or if citizens perceive declining safety, trust in the social contract erodes. The tragedy here is the depletion of social capital, potentially leading to fragmentation or authoritarian responses to restore order—both antithetical to Western democratic ideals.
4.Sustainability and Carrying Capacity: Every society has a "carrying capacity" for absorbing newcomers, determined by its resources and infrastructure. Open borders ignore this limit, treating access as an infinite good. When migration exceeds this capacity—as critics argue has happened in parts of Europe with over a million asylum applications in 2024—the commons of public services and societal resilience collapses under the weight. The result could be economic stagnation, cultural dislocation, and political instability, which Vance frames as "civilizational suicide."
In this view, open borders constitute a tragedy of the commons because they incentivise individual migration for personal gain (e.g., better economic prospects) while collectively overexploiting the host society's shared resources. Without regulation—akin to limits on grazing in the classic tragedy—self-interest prevails until the civilisation's foundational systems buckle, risking its long-term survival. Critics might counter that migration historically enriches societies (e.g., the U.S. as a 'nation of immigrants"), but the argument hinges on scale and control: unmanaged, limitless inflows could push a society past its tipping point, aligning with Vance's dire warning.
"U.S. Vice President JD Vance has warned that Europe risks "civilizational suicide" if it continues to undermine fundamental Western liberties and engage in mass migration policies.
In an interview published on Friday evening with Fox News's Laura Ingraham, Vice President Vance doubled down on his critique of the globalist agenda that dominates much of Europe, warning that, ultimately, it may be the downfall of the "the cradle of Western civilization".
"The entire idea of Christian civilisation that led to the founding of the United States of America was formed in Europe. The cultural bonds, the religious bonds – these things are going to last beyond political disagreements," Vance said.
"But I think that Europe, and frankly, I would have said this about America a year ago, is at risk, I think, of engaging in civilizational suicide."
Vance particularly highlighted the open borders agenda that has come to dominate much of Europe over the past decade and the increasingly authoritarian speech restrictions imposed by supposedly liberal governments in the EU and UK.
"They are unable or unwilling – too many countries – to control their borders… You see them starting to limit the free speech of their own citizens even as those citizens are protesting against things like the border invasion that got [US President] Donald Trump and a number of European leaders elected," he said.
The vice president said that the problems facing Europe also have an impact on the United States, noting that illegal migrants who enter Europe without proper vetting can use it as a springboard to America.
Vance has also previously highlighted recently enacted censorship laws in Britain and the European Union that allow regulators to impose billions in fines against American social media companies.
"I want Europe to thrive. I want them to be an important ally. Part of that is going to be Europe respecting its own people, respecting its own sovereignty, and America can't do that job for them," Vance said.
"If you have a country like Germany, where you have another few million immigrants come in from countries that are totally culturally incompatible with Germany, then it doesn't matter what I think about Europe. Germany will have killed itself, and I hope they don't do that because I love Germany, and I want Germany to thrive."
The vice president's comments echo the message he delivered in February at the Munich Security Conference in Germany. While the globalist annual meeting typically focuses on war and national defence issues, Vance told Europeans gathered at the summit that the greatest threat facing the continent is those who destroy liberties from within rather than from external actors like Russia or China.
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