Relevant Reading:Whiteshift: Populism, Immigration, and the Future of White Majorities

Eric Kaufmann

This is the century of “whiteshift,” Eric Kaufmann argues in his latest book: “the turbulent journey from a world of racially homogeneous white majorities to one of racially hybrid majorities.” Yet even as such demographic change is driving polarization and a populist backlash, Kaufmann argues, leaders have failed to grapple honestly with the phenomenon—either stigmatizing whites’ anxieties about demographic change as inherently racist, or seeking to calm those anxieties with economic policies that do not address their roots.In Whiteshift, Kaufmann offers a new way forward, delving deep into the demographic data to argue for an honest conversation about white identity concerns. “What’s needed,” he writes, “is a new vision that gives conservative members of white majorities hope for their group’s future while permitting cosmopolitans the freedom to celebrate diversity.”Eric Kaufmann is professor of politics at Birkbeck College, University of London. Tune in this week as he joins Richard Aldous to discuss the book, and don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes. You can also follow @aminterest and Eric Kaufmann (@epkaufm) on Twitter.