Prior to the 20th Century traveling was expensive and time consuming. Today, for about the cost of railway ticket from New York to Washington in 1915 dollars, you can travel from Lahore to New York. And because of the welfare state, immediately receive benefits. Just about every single person in Calcutta would hop on a plane to Los Angeles tomorrow, given the opportunity. Lahore, Madras, Puna, Kabul, Islamabad, Haiti, Hanoi, Laos, ... would be right behind them.
disagree
Also, Job prospects and wage growth are much higher in Pune than in Akron.
but we do need to eliminate the entire welfare state before returning to a free society.
In terms of travel, today’s world is smaller that than the 13 colonies in 1789, when the Constitution was ratified.
In terms of time and difficulty of communication, smaller then London of 1800.