SHOULD BORDERS BE OPEN?
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The case for
Economists across the ideological spectrum estimate open borders would roughly double world GDP by allowing labor to flow to its highest-value use. It is the most efficient anti-poverty intervention imaginable — larger than any foreign aid program, any trade deal, and most domestic welfare policies...
Posted by jconnor
The right to move is already recognized for goods, capital, and data. Restricting it for people but not the products they make or the money they earn is an arbitrary asymmetry that protects incumbent workers in wealthy countries at the expense of the global poor who are blocked from reaching better...
Posted by jconnor
Every moral intuition that condemns discrimination by race, religion, or gender should also condemn discrimination by birthplace. The passport lottery is the most consequential determinant of life outcomes and the least morally defensible. Citizenship by birth is as arbitrary as aristocracy.
Posted by jconnor
The case against
The welfare state requires bounded solidarity: generous social programs exist because citizens are willing to fund people they feel connected to. Open borders dissolves the political constituency for redistribution and will accelerate stripping back welfare states to remain fiscally viable. You can...
Posted by jconnor
Rapid demographic change — even when economically beneficial — strains housing, public services, and social trust faster than democratic institutions can manage. The populist backlash against immigration that has fueled authoritarianism across the West is evidence of what happens when pace exceeds...
Posted by jconnor
Low-wage workers in destination countries bear the largest costs of immigration-driven wage competition while elites who benefit from cheaper labor bear none. Open borders is a regressive policy that wealthier, more mobile advocates promote at the expense of those with the least bargaining power.
Posted by jconnor
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What is a strong argument for "Should Borders Be Open?"?
Economists across the ideological spectrum estimate open borders would roughly double world GDP by allowing labor to flow to its highest-value use. It is the most efficient anti-poverty intervention imaginable — larger than any foreign aid program, any trade deal, and most domestic welfare policies... (Argued by jconnor on SuperDebate.)
What is a strong argument against "Should Borders Be Open?"?
The welfare state requires bounded solidarity: generous social programs exist because citizens are willing to fund people they feel connected to. Open borders dissolves the political constituency for redistribution and will accelerate stripping back welfare states to remain fiscally viable. You can... (Argued by jconnor on SuperDebate.)
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