DemocracyThe God That Failed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

Author:Hans-Hermann Hoppe
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Transaction Publishers

In addition, traditionally labor unions, and nowadays environmentalists, are opposed to free immigration, and this should prima facie count as another argument in favor of a policy of free immigration.2

II

As it is stated, the above argument in favor of free immigration is irrefutable. It would be foolish to attack it, just as it would be foolish to deny that free trade leads to higher living standards than does protectionism.3

It would also be wrong to attack the above case for free immigration by pointing out that because of the existence of a welfare state, immigration has become to a significant extent the immigration of welfare-bums, who do not increase but rather decrease average living standards even if the United States, for instance, is below her optimal population point. For this is not an argument against immigration but against the welfare state. To be sure, the welfare state should be destroyed in its entirety. However, the problems of immigration and welfare are analytically distinct problems and must be treated accordingly.

The problem with the above argument is that it suffers from two interrelated shortcomings which invalidate its unconditional pro-immigration conclusion and/or which render the argument applicable only to a highly unrealistic—long bygone—situation in human history.

The first shortcoming will only be touched upon. To libertarians of the Austrian School, it should be clear that what constitutes "wealth" and "well-being" is subjective. Material wealth is not the only thing that has value. Thus, even if real incomes rise due to immigration, it does not follow that immigration must be considered "good," for one might prefer lower living standards and a greater distance to other people over higher living standards and a smaller distance to others.4

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.