The Martian pointed out that if this had happened 1000 years ago in Europe, there would be no modern states, no cathedrals, no palaces and no culture in Europe. There would just be thousands of refugee camps housing Visigoths, Lombards and scattered Romans all being fed grain by different NGOs under different ceasefires.

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Nathan Smith is a former business journalist and columnist at the NBR. He also worked as the chief editor at the New Zealand Initiative policy think tank. He is now a freelance writer and copy editor.