Some people refuse to mince words. They insist that individuals who enter the USA without the national government’s approval are criminals. Consider, however, that the U.S. government has no constitutional authority whatsoever over immigration, only over naturalization.
Author: Robert Higgs
Robert Higgs is Senior Fellow in Political Economy at the Independent Institute and Editor at Large of the Institute’s quarterly journal The Independent Review. He received his Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, and he has taught at the University of Washington, Lafayette College, Seattle University, the University of Economics, Prague, and George Mason University. He has been a visiting scholar at Oxford University and Stanford University, and a fellow at the Hoover Institution and the National Science Foundation.
In Spite of Threats
On any given day, even in a world pervaded by states and their dictates, nearly everything that people do or refrain from doing is so not because the state threatens them with violence for acting otherwise, but because they find conformity with rules — honesty, promise keeping, careful handling of goods, avoidance of opportunism, and so forth — to be in their interest.
Serving Their Own Interests
Tremendous amounts of time and effort go into exposing the hypocrisy of particular politicians or political parties. But really, amigos, no one with even a passing familiarity with politics expects consistency from these persons and their umbrella institutions. Looking for a principled stance from them? Lots of luck with that.
Nothing but Legalized Theft
The loot from the tariff revenues goes into the hands of government officials, and the income from artificially stimulated demand for domestically produced goods goes into the coffers of crony capitalists.
On the “Participatory” Part of “Participatory Fascism”
When I use “participatory fascism”—for me a technical term in political economy, not an ideological or rhetorical cudgel—most people react to the “fascism” part and disregard the “participatory” part. Yet that part is critical to one’s understanding of how this system of rule proves so durable and resilient.
They Fully Intend to Plunder and Bully You
The hurdle over which most people cannot jump is the belief that government means well, that it acts so harmfully only because it chooses inappropriate means for the attainment of its laudable objectives.
The Scum of the Earth
Many people say that one ought to respect the law even when it is senseless, destructive, and vicious. This claim is prima facie nonsense.
Astute Socialists Opt for Participatory Fascism in Practice
By opting for participatory fascism, they can get the bulk of what they seek, by means of pervasive regulation, heavy taxation, and floods of government spending, while allowing the fettered capitalists enough room for maneuver that they keep the economy from going straight to hell.
The Scum of The Earth
Many people say that one ought to respect the law even when it is senseless, destructive, and vicious. This claim is prima facie nonsense. The nonsense is even more palpable when one understands how laws are made and the kind of people who make them.
The Criminalization of Hate Crimes
If hate crimes are going to be an enforceable legal category, wouldn’t it make sense to recognize people who are impelled by statism to commit wrongs — that is, to support or carry out the government’s business as usual — as having committed hate crimes?