Open Borders - bookrastinating.com

hardcover, 256 pages

Published Oct. 29, 2019 by First Second.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-31697-4

American policy-makers have long been locked in a heated battle over whether, how many, and what kind of immigrants to allow to live and work in the country. Those in favor of welcoming more immigrants often cite humanitarian reasons, while those in favor of more restrictive laws argue the need to protect native citizens. But economist Bryan Caplan adds a new, compelling perspective to the immigration debate: He argues that opening all borders could eliminate absolute poverty worldwide and usher in a booming worldwide economy--greatly benefiting humanity. With a clear and conversational tone, exhaustive research, and vibrant illustrations by Zach Weinersmith, Open Borders makes the case for unrestricted immigration easy to follow and hard to deny

2 editions

Dubi reviewed Open Borders by Zach Weinersmith

Review of 'Open Borders' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm a big fan of immigration, and of more immigration, but I was not convinced by this book. It seems to completely ignore the short term repercussions of the suggested policy, and refers almost singularly to the supposed doubling of GDP, while ignoring how this new wealth will be distributed and who would be harmed by these changes.
Of course, the book is very US centric, and only a country with such flimsy welfare and no public healthcare could make the argument made here.

I've benefited from immigration, and I believe my new home country has benefitted from my coming here, too. But it took several years of being a net receiver of welfare before I could stand on my own two feet and become a net tax payer.

Any policy that ignores this lag and remove all annual quotas on immigration will lead to a terrible tragedy of the …

I'm a big fan of immigration, and of more immigration, but I was not convinced by this book. It seems to completely ignore the short term repercussions of the suggested policy, and refers almost singularly to the supposed doubling of GDP, while ignoring how this new wealth will be distributed and who would be harmed by these changes.
Of course, the book is very US centric, and only a country with such flimsy welfare and no public healthcare could make the argument made here.

I've benefited from immigration, and I believe my new home country has benefitted from my coming here, too. But it took several years of being a net receiver of welfare before I could stand on my own two feet and become a net tax payer.

Any policy that ignores this lag and remove all annual quotas on immigration will lead to a terrible tragedy of the commons situation and widespread destitution.

So, sorry, I was not at all convinced by this argument, but then, I don't think it was aimed at me anyway. Most of the argumemts were aimed at right wing opposition to immigration, and offered right wing solutions to right wing concerns, which inevitably cause new problems.