Why do I keep needing to point this out? No, it is not a sound analogy to compare “closed borders” with having a fence around your own yard. In fact, it is a profoundly crappy analogy, since the political crooks in DC do not rightfully own every square inch of land between the Atlantic and the Pacific.
Tag: borders
No Such Thing as “International” Economics
I’ve come to the conclusion that the world would be better off had there never been the sub-discipline within economics of “international economics” (or, alternatively, of “international trade” and “international finance”). The economics profession likely also would be better off without such a sub-discipline.
Countries Are Not Companies
One of the most persistent false beliefs held by American voters is that someone with “business experience” would do a better job “running the economy” than politicians have. Let’s put aside the idea that an economy is something that needs to be, or can be, “run” and explore whether a CEO of a major company as president really would be better for the economy.
But Who Will Build The Libertarian Society? The Inconsistency of “Immigration Control”
A popular rationalization for “immigration control” is a coupling of the reality that the State currently “taxes” (forces/extorts) people to pay for “welfare,” roadways, etc., and the chance (which proponents claim is fact) that “immigrants” “will vote to take your freedoms away.” This carries the linguistic baggage of layer upon layer of delusion, but in the end it either boils down to the State being rightful owner of all property, or at least acting as if it were, and violently controlling everyone and their property.
Finding Your Tribe Of Confidantes
It is not about how many friends you have. It is about the meaning and depth of those friendships. A small handful of genuinely caring friends who would come to your aid in your time of need is more valuable than the most precious rubies and gems. No man is an island unto himself.
The Destruction of Libertarian Ideology
A few of my ideological mentors over the years have written or spoken recently on the idea of open borders, condemning the idea as not only anti-libertarian, but also dangerous and destructive. It pains me to think these mentors of mine as being so wrong on this question, but alas that’s what they are. In fact, the argument they employ would destroy libertarian ideology completely if taken to its logical conclusion.
David Hume on Self-Coordinating and Correcting Market Processes
David Hume emphasized that commerce and trade were among the most important avenues to offer opportunities to raise people’s standards of living, and to bring refinement and cultural betterment to a growing portion of a nation’s population.
A Country is Not a House
Any time we have a discussion of borders, and who should be able to cross these lines, somebody will say something like “You advocate open borders? I will break your locks, enter your home, and sleep with your daughter.”
Sealed Borders Are Not Gated Communities
“A sealed border is like a gated community” if and only if that gated community were a fortress owned by an autocratic tyrant.
Immigration Controls Are Socialist
The liberal thinkers of the 19th century got a few things wrong, but they were steadfast in their defense of a free market in labor. They upheld freedom of migration as an axiomatic principle, as Stolper put it. They won the argument. And they lived in a time of unprecedented peace and economic growth.