Comments Elsewhere

Frank argues: “The point is that the overwhelming majority wants (restrictionist) immigration reform, but their representatives still won’t enact it.”

Who cares what the overwhelming majority wants? The question was whether or not “open borders” constitutes a form of social engineering. The answer is that it doesn’t. Even if the overwhelming majority of people wants force to be used against immigrants regardless of whether or not those immigrants have violated anyone’s rights, failing to do so is not using government force against anyone.

(Incidentally, those who are familiar with Hans Hermann-Hoppe’s work may find it amusing to watch as both paleolibertarian arguments and arguments from majoritarian democracy are thrown out in order to attack the position.)

And: “The ranchers who have finally reached their limits and started trying to police their own properties against illegal aliens certainly know a bit about the government force brought to bear in favor of open borders.”

The issue here isn’t open borders, it’s proportionality and the right to self-defense. If you think ranchers are acting appropriately to curtail trespassing and being punished by the government for it, that hasn’t got anything in particular to do with immigration.

Frank goes on: “The fact that you can even frame a question like that with a (presumably) straight face argues against any reasonable person wasting his time formulating an answer.”

My comment was in response to a blogger who has repeatedly identified himself as a libertarian, on a blog read by many people who express libertarian sentiments. Libertarians typically consider private property rights important and government expropriation of wealth problematic at best. They also typically aren’t swayed by majoritarian arguments for using violence to achieve some set of cultural goals. I think it’s perfectly reasonable to pose the question, given what Razib and others have stated in the past in this space. If you think no reasonable person could possibly consider libertarian objections to immigration controls, then what do you think about people who claim to take libertarian claims seriously in general?