Why Minority America Will Be a Stronger Nation

Minorities may be the majority in America as soon as 2042, and Joel Kotkin writes in New Geography that he couldn’t be happier. Leftists who fear racial conflict, and right-wingers who cry "American values" are missing the point, writes Kotkin: The nation's future depends on its ability to integrate outsiders. New Americans create markets, expand the work force, and inject youthful energy into American cities.

In fact, integration is America's advantage on the world stage. Many developing countries have policies that favor native people, and in Europe minorities have been culturally isolated. But America's recent wave of Muslim immigrants, for example, are mostly content and middle class. “You can keep the flavor of your ethnicity,” said one Pakistani immigrant, “but you are expected to become an American.” (More diversity stories.)