Population Explosion and Immigration
“What if 50 or 100 million come?”
What are the incentives for people to move here? Let’s just focus on Mexico for a few minutes. Most other immigrants face lower barriers to entry anyway.
If 20 million Mexicans are in America now, we are doing okay. No big deal.
If another 20 million come, then wages in America will fall, though overall productivity may likely continue to increase. In that case, everybody’s okay. No big deal.
If the new 20 million reduce the average well-being of individuals inside America on the other hand, then there is a reduced incentive for more Mexicans to come to America. Some may even go back. In the long run we might expect Mexico and America to have similar economies. People would be indifferent to living here or there. Some of us might move there, even. There is nothing unjust about this, so long as rights are preserved throughout. The only change has been removal of a protected privilege from Americans.
While we enjoy that privilege, I can find no ethical grounds for it. It is, to me, an injustice.
So, everybody’s okay, if maybe more equal in incomes (though I doubt this case altogether), no big deal.
The same logic applies to 100 million immigrants or more.
Additionally, open immigration policies will encourage other nations to lower barriers to trade and to make their laws more free. This will encourage investment and growth the world over. Again, people would have less incentive to move here. No big deal.
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