1975 Mitchell Prize awarded to Dr. John H. Tanton for his Essay on International Migration
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In 1975, John Tanton submitted the essay "Human Migration" in response to a call for essays for The Mitchell Prize, sponsored by George Mitchell. Dr. Tanton responded to an announcement of the Mitchell Prize essay contest that was published in Science Magazine in 1974. John organized result of several years of study and writing into an essay that eventually won third prize. The article was then published as the cover article of The Ecologist in July, 1976.
In a video interview, Dr. Tanton discusses the essay contest that started it all.
Read the complete essay, Human Migration by John Tanton.
This article, along with six critical reviews and the author's response, is reprinted in the booklet from The Social Contract journal. Dr. Tanton asks how much longer massive international migration can go on, and then sets forth a new paradigm and a set of ethical principles to govern migration policy. From the prologue:
Adage tells us that we often 'don't see the forest for the trees.' Nowhere is this more true than in immigration policy the complexity of immigration law or the plight of individual migrants tends to narrow our focus and bog us down in minutiae.
This paper backs away from the details and examines the bigger picture - in the longer run. It explores the three 'pillars' on which the contemporary migration edifice is built population growth engendered by public and personal health measures, better transportation, and better communications. It closes with a new paradigm for under-standing migration phenomena, and with a new set of ethical principles to guide immigration policy in the 21st century.