Numerous data indicate a new wave of mass displacement to new places, and a desire to experiment with alternative lifestyles, as was the case in the 1970s.
These phenomena are reinforced during periods of economic crises and during social movements that do not find anything that meets their expectations, according to Laurent Jean-Pierre, professor of political science at the University of Paris-Panthéon-Sorbonne, who highlighted a new wave of immigration driven by a sense of "environmental predicament" in his interview with the newspaper "Nouvelle Observator." nouvelobs) French.
For 3 years, Jean-Pierre has been studying this phenomenon that is taking place in France and different parts of the world, which he called the migration to "oases".
But where did this name come from?
Why migrate to oases?
Jean-Pierre says that this term is related to what he called "contemporary collective utopia" (meaning socialism that dreams of an ideal society free of conflict and seeks to achieve ideals that are far from reality, and that is a tendency for an ideal life free of defects).
It appeared since the 1940s with the American novelist Mary McCarthy, who wrote a story called "Oasis" before the German philosopher Hannah Arendt developed this metaphor and gave it a wide resonance.
He believes that the health crisis that the world went through during the last period played a role in the mass movement from cities to these areas closer to nature, but he stresses the difficulty of determining the extent of this phenomenon in the absence of official statistics.
Immigration experiences to oases renew themselves by leaving a distance with the outside world and establishing good relations with residents of neighboring villages (Getty Images)
What distinguishes the current experience from its predecessors?
The French researcher adds that the search for alternative life styles is a recurring matter in human history, but the current movement is distinguished from its predecessors by two main factors.
The first is the “ecological factor” (environmental that can lead in certain circumstances to a marked effect on certain organisms or their societies, causing a rise or decrease in the number of organisms) which was not absent from the previous waves, such as the displacement towards the countryside, as well as “Hibes” (in English). (Hippies) is a social movement that was originally a youth movement that originated in the United States in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century and then spread to the rest of the western countries) and some socialist experiences in the nineteenth century, but it is more evident at the present time.
Today, these moves express a desire to escape from the clutches of wage labor, and an attempt to reshape the means of production and control of resources through collective cooperation and self-management.
This appears to be a reaction to the “environmental impasse that neoliberal (neoliberalism) has led us to” (an ideological thought based on economic liberalism which is the economic component of classical liberalism and which represents support for absolute capitalism and non-state intervention in the economy).
As for the other factor that characterizes the current phenomenon, it is the institutional character that these new immigrants try to impart to their experiences.
It is true that these institutions are still fragile, but it is clear - according to Jean-Pierre - that there is a benefit from previous lessons, especially the social failures of the seventies.
There are now training courses and local and international networks working to frame these migrations, and the culture of "project management" has permeated these experiences, whereby funds are raised and schools are established for children, which did not exist a few years ago.
And Jean-Pierre believes that this institutionalization can provide more stability and viability for these societies that were previously witnessing a large number of deaths among children, and were unable to withstand for long periods.
Rural displacement is a phenomenon that spread in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century and returned with the Corona pandemic (Getty Images)
Who lives in these places?
The French researcher says that this utopian phenomenon was associated with a certain class of craftsmen and aristocrats in the middle of the 19th century.
In the 1970s, it came to include mainly educated people and students, and it continues today.
Many of those who have completed their university education, and a large percentage of engineers, feel disgust at the contemporary way of life imposed on them. They have lost confidence in the "neoliberal" promises and have rejected the idea of employing their skills and knowledge in the service of an automated system that does not correspond to their values, and they have come to the conviction that technological development and capitalism Digital is leading the world towards a dead end.
Is it a case of rebellion?
Does this mean that this social phenomenon is a form of "insurgency" led by the elite?
In this regard, Jean-Pierre believes that this phenomenon should not be reduced to a specific category, because there are also environmental and political activists, and not all of them have university degrees.
In 2018, the Global Ecological Villages Network, a non-governmental organization with an advisory seat at the United Nations, monitored 15,000 environmental migrants in 114 countries, and contrary to popular belief, most of them are in the South.
Jean-Pierre confirms that the ideological and political character occupies a lesser position in such societies today, compared to what it was in the seventies, where the practical and technical discourse prevails, and the focus is on sustainable agriculture and the creation of environmental habitats, which affects daily life and the nature of social relations within these groups. .
According to his opinion, we can see that there is a will to change the world through these experiences that aim to alert the world to the seriousness of the current situation and the need to work towards achieving a better life, using a spiritual and ethical discourse away from politics.
Nevertheless, the French researcher cautions that these modern experiences are not completely devoid of ideological and political considerations, and are not less "radical" than the experiences of the past. The reason is that the control of neoliberalism over all aspects of human life in the past period has come to impose greater resilience and resilience for the sake of Adopting alternative lifestyles.
Why disappear and fail so quickly?
Jean-Pierre explains what is happening within these groups of tension and conflicts, especially since the status of the charismatic leader at the present time is no longer the same as it was in previous experiences.
Nevertheless, he says, these experiences remain able to constantly renew themselves by leaving distance with the "outside" world and establishing good relations with residents of neighboring villages and local authorities.