Communitarianism does not endorse closed borders. If anything, the communitarian case against the most outrageous forms of immigration enforcement, such as deportations, is stronger than that of other ethical perspectives. And there is little reason to believe that immigration threatens the formation and preservation of the communities that give peoples’ lives meaning.
One oft-overlooked point about immigration policy is just how absurd and arbitrary it is, in any country you can name. One of the best prima facie arguments against the policy status quo is that it literally does not make sense: it is internally inconsistent, opaque, impossible to make sense of. A couple stories I have … Continue reading Some absurdities of immigration policy
By what right did 100 English Puritans, remembered as “the Pilgrims,” arrive at Cape Cod late in the year in 1620 and establish a new settlement called Plymouth Plantation? None was needed. Or if you prefer, by the right over the earth which God granted to all mankind when He told Adam and Eve: Be … Continue reading In defense of the Pilgrims
In the first post in this three post series, I gleaned a theory of the economic frontier from some of BK’s comments and offered a few of my own responses. In this post, I’ll expound my own theory. Two general points. First, how the economic frontier advances is both enormously important for human welfare and quite … Continue reading Open borders and the economic frontier, part 2
Restrictionists frequently criticise unauthorised immigration by insisting on respect for the rule of the law. Dodging questions about the justness or reasonableness of immigration law, they continue to insist the law must be respected, independent of any concerns one might have about ethics or practicality. I wonder, then, if these same people have never illegally … Continue reading Are immigration restrictionists pirates?