Old Europe Stop The Great Replacement!
by Rikard Högberg
Legatum Books
154 pages

Reviewed by Fjordman

The Swedish author Rikard Högberg recently published his book Old Europe Stop The Great Replacement! He wrote an earlier version of this book in 2002, but the second edition has been updated through 2022 and contains new chapters.^[1]

The concept of The Great Replacement has been promoted by the French author Renaud Camus. In his book Le Grand Remplacement from 2011, Camus argues that a European elite is in the process of replacing the native European population with people of immigrant origin. Instead of encouraging its own native population to have enough children, politicians and policymakers are advocating for immigration to replace the deficit of young working-age people. The result of this policy is the gradual replacement of the native European population with peoples of foreign origin, without regard for heritage and cultural conditions.

This process is plainly obvious for everybody to see. Across much of Europe, from Athens to Dublin and from Lisbon to Hamburg, immigrants are rapidly replacing the natives in neighborhood after neighborhood. It has become increasingly difficult to find an ethnic Frenchman in parts of Paris, just as it has become increasingly difficult to find a native English or British person in parts of London. However, stating the obvious and pointing this fact out is met with condemnations of “racism” by bad-faith actors, making a public debate on this subject nearly impossible.

At least, you are not allowed to point out the ongoing population replacement if you criticize or oppose this development. This will at best bring ridicule and scorn. At worst, it could earn you accusations of being a dangerous extremist or even a potential terrorist. Rikard Högberg notes that you may be allowed to comment on the replacement of native Europeans in their historical homelands, but only if you applaud and support this:

“When the replacement of Europeans is described by liberal and progressive voices it is portrayed as something positive; it is welcomed by the press and politicians. However, when those who point out the negative sides of this replacement and want it to be stopped or reversed, it is labelled as a ‘conspiracy theory’ and denied by the very same press and politicians who previously lauded it.”^[2]

Högberg believes that a vile replacement policy is being actively promoted by the Globalist ruling class that currently governs Western countries. They rule through false and misleading information and propaganda, rigged elections, threats, intimidation, and various forms of attacks on dissidents and freethinkers:

“Globalist actors such as George Soros and Bill Gates fund and direct obedient corporations and NGOs that do whatever they wish. Their actions all point in one direction; they want to destroy Europe. They want to replace the European population and independence with a new and easily manipulated low-wage slave population. They want to destroy people making innovations that could threaten their hegemony. They hate independent-minded people. They hate intelligent people who can think for themselves. They hate people they cannot bribe. And by extension, as a European, they hate you. They want you extinct and gone. Thus the falling birthrates in Western countries is not a slump. It is the direct result of enacted policies perpetrated by our countries’ currently most potent elements. They fund demographic institutes and ‘think tanks’ that come up with these replacement immigration policies.”^[3]

Similar ideas are being pushed simultaneously through international organizations such as the UN and the EU, but also through numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), business forums and policy institutes. Some of them are very powerful and influential, yet do not possess any shred of democratic mandate. This includes the World Economic Forum (WEF), founded by Klaus Schwab from Germany. The WEF holds annual meetings in Davos, Switzerland for powerful investors and business leaders, political leaders, and celebrities “to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”^[4]

Fortunately, major change may be coming our way. The ruling elites still control much of the information flow, but their grip on power is less firm than before. Fewer people are reading mainstream media controlled by the Globalists, and they trust what they are being told by the mass media less and less. More citizens are taking note of how duplicitous, shameless, and dishonest the Globalists are, while attempting to shield themselves from valid criticism and public scrutiny.

The current financial system is probably not sustainable in the long run, either. The US dollar is on the retreat as a global reserve currency. The central banks have printed more money for many years without solving the basic problems of our economy. Levels of debt keep growing internationally. Högberg predicts that the petrodollar will collapse and be replaced by gold-based sovereign currencies worldwide. The global finance and banking system will change drastically, eliminating a vast parasitic burden on our societies.^[5] While this transformation will be turbulent and probably painful, Rikard Högberg hopes that it may be beneficial in the long run. When our civilization is headed for the abyss, perhaps it needs a big shock to change course and hopefully save itself.

Högberg devotes many pages to looking at demography and birth rates in a historical perspective. Virtually all European nations currently have below replacement level birthrates. On a global scale, we see that some of the most dysfunctional and least technologically sophisticated countries on Earth have very high birth rates. This includes many African states such as Niger, Angola, Mali, Uganda, Benin, Chad, Congo, South Sudan, Somalia, and Mozambique.^[6] Ethiopia may soon have a bigger population than Japan. Nigeria could become the planet’s third most populous country later this century. Meanwhile, advanced economies such as Japan, South Korea, and Germany all have very low birth rates. Even China has recently entered a period of declining population and will be surpassed by India as the world’s most populous nation.^[7]

In the long run, Europeans will need to raise their birth rates to above replacement level, that is, 2.1 children per woman on average. However, Högberg is a firm believer in non-European mass immigration not being the answer to Europe’s problems. Many of these immigrants are too mentally and culturally different from native Europeans to ever assimilate properly. Instead, they will bring with them numerous social, economic, and cultural problems of their own. The key ingredient in European civilization is Europeans. We need European children.

Högberg is not always convincing in explaining why birth rates fluctuate in different nations and time periods. Nor does he provide a conclusive answer to how Europeans can re-establish healthy birth rates. This will undoubtedly involve reinstituting the traditional family as a strong unit. Given the current level of social decay, such a transformation may require a major shock to reboot a healthy culture.

Yet Rikard Högberg provides food for thought. He is probably right in predicting that Europe will experience multiple big shocks in the years to come. Some of them are already being felt. Perhaps out of this mess, sane Europeans can find the seeds for some sort of revival.

Notes:

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