Re: Morality and Immigration
Ed Dodson responding... Alexander Tabarrok wrote: I am giving a talk today in which I point out that virtually every moral theory implies open borders are moral and immigration controls immoral. ... Yet, ... the implications are clearly not accepted by most people - or at least most people are willing to ignore the implications. What does this tell us. 1) Moral theory counts for nothing, 2) We are still tribalist but are working away from that, 3) We have the wrong moral theory. 4) ? Ed here: These are important questions, the subject of thousands of books and an endless series of conferences, seminars and advocacies. Centuries after St. Thomas Aquinas, we are still arguing whether there are universal rights attached to our humanness, superior to any social mores (even those accepted by the majority in a society). I earlier offered as a fundamental moral principle that "the earth is the birthright of all persons, equally." To argue otherwise is to argue that some are born into this worth with greater claims on the natural world than others. The reality of our circumstance is that human beings live and have lived for thousands of years in very different physical environments, mostly with modest interaction with other groups (except as opponents in warfare over territorial expansion). Suddenly, with the rapid introduction of new technologies, we are thrust together without having had the opportunity to incrementally solve the socio-political problems associated with cultural relativism. There is a growing transnational community of people working toward the identification and promotion of universal values, to serve as the basis for the socio-political arrangements and institutions in every society. However, this community of people is still a small minority. An enormous educational challenge exists to overcome deeply entrenched and institutionally-supported nurturing that fosters ethnic and racial bigotry, privilege-based societal hierarchies and the continued adherence to tribalism (and its extended imprint on the global village, nationalism). begin:vcard n:Dodson;Edward tel;fax:215-575-1718 tel;home:856-428-3472 tel;work:215-575-1819 x-mozilla-html:TRUE org:Fannie Mae;Housing and Community Development, Northeast Regional Office (NERO) version:2.1 email;internet:[EMAIL PROTECTED] title:Senior Affordable Housing Business Manager note:If you need to reach me during non-business hours, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] adr;quoted-printable:;;1900 Market Street=0D=0ASuite 800;Philadelphia;PA;19103;U.S.A. fn:Edward J. Dodson end:vcard
Morality and Immigration
I am giving a talk today in which I point out that virtually every moral theory implies open borders are moral and immigration controls immoral. Here are the theories I deal with. 1) Natural Rights ala Nozick, Rand etc. 2) Utilitarianism 3) Contemporary redistribute the wealth liberalism (ala the John Kenneth Galbraith quote mentioned earlier). 4) Analytical liberalism (Rawlsian veil of ignorance arguments.) 5) Christianity (kindness to strangers) I think the arguments for open borders under each of these moral theories should be pretty clear for list readers but I will spell them out if anyone is interested. My point here is that this is all very surprising. After all, these moral theories disagree on just about any other issue! Each of these moral theories, however, has a univeralist claim. That is, it takes equality seriously in some sense and does not recognize the arbitrary and accidental place of birth to be determinative in any important way which is why it supports open borders. Yet, despite the fact that these are all big-time moral theories the implications are clearly not accepted by most people - or at least most people are willing to ignore the implications. What does this tell us. 1) Moral theory counts for nothing, 2) We are still tribalist but are working away from that, 3) We have the wrong moral theory. 4) ? Alex -- Dr. Alexander Tabarrok Vice President and Director of Research The Independent Institute 100 Swan Way Oakland, CA, 94621-1428 Tel. 510-632-1366, FAX: 510-568-6040 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Morality and Immigration
Alexander Tabarrok wrote: I am giving a talk today in which I point out that virtually every moral theory implies open borders are moral and immigration controls immoral. ... Yet, ... the implications are clearly not accepted by most people - or at least most people are willing to ignore the implications. What does this tell us. 1) Moral theory counts for nothing, 2) We are still tribalist but are working away from that, 3) We have the wrong moral theory. 4) ? It seems even stranger than that - people do accept moral arguments when it comes to sending aid from here to there, though they clearly don't weigh very heavily on them, since such aid is rather small. They treat the two ways of helping differently, even though the way of helping others that they avoid would actually help them as well. Robin Hanson [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://hanson.gmu.edu Asst. Prof. Economics, George Mason University MSN 1D3, Carow Hall, Fairfax VA 22030- 703-993-2326 FAX: 703-993-2323
