A global history approach toward the study of migrations would show that there has never before been such a degree of understanding of migrants as people. Parallel to the macromigrations that dealt in numbers, the movements of craftspeople, artisans, and those offering a wide range of other technical or skilled services have rarely been noticed. The recent shift in emphasis from migrants with rare skills to those who are trained and educated in interchangeable skills have changed that (Klein 1987). The advent of modern mass education and the universal transmission of common basic skills distinguishes this era of migration as one in which migrants have risen from anonymity. The future of macromigrations may be grim: It may rest on the continuous supply of desperate refugees rather than on the orderly movements of peoples. If nation-states continue to behave according to form, perhaps only micromigrations of the more enterprising products of schools, colleges, and universities, whether vocational, commercial, technical, or academic, would be permitted if and when nation-states encourage any migration at all. This does not face the larger moral considerations, but it may be all the moral gain people can hope for.
