… is from page 206 of my colleague Bryan Caplan’s, and his co-author Vipul Naik’s, superb new article “A Radical Case for Open Borders,” which is Chapter 8 of the new collection (2015), edited by Ben Powell, The Economics of Immigration (original emphasis):
While we don’t know exactly what open borders would do, that’s the same as saying we don’t know how much damage the status quo inflicts. In expectation, the damage is massive. It is all too easy for us – particularly comfortable First Worlders – to forget the moral urgency of freedom of movement. Under the status quo, tens of millions around the globe live as unauthorized migrants, fearing the law enforcement that is supposed to protect them. And they’re the lucky ones. Hundreds of millions want to seek a better life in another land, but find the black market back door too costly and too scary. Border controls tear families apart and crush countless dreams of people rich and poor. Are the risks of open borders really dire enough to continue calling foreigners criminals for peacefully moving to opportunity?
