Open Borders: The Mock Trial
From FreedomFest 2023
I’ve done scores of public debates, but my last mock trial was the case of Hansel and Gretel back in Ms. Niederreiter’s 7th-grade English class.
Until FreedomFest 2023, when I was an expert witness for Open Borders. The full line-up:
Michael Shermer (judge)
Larry Elder (prosecution attorney)
Jim Geraghty (prosecution witness)
Jan Janielek (prosecution witness)Catherine Bernard (defense attorney)
Bryan Caplan (defense witness)
Jacob Hornberger (defense witness)
The trial was a weird but thrilling experience. Weird, because unlike a debate, I never got to speak to the expert prosecution witnesses (except pleasantries in the green room). Thrilling, because my teammates were much better than me. In private, Jacob Hornberger is a mild-mannered guy. On stage, he’s a rock star. Enjoy the full video. And defense attorney Catherine Bernard was cinematic. A legal personage straight out of Paths of Glory or Inherit the Wind.
Spoiler: I don’t know how the jurors were picked. FreedomFest audiences are known for leaning right, but jurors had to avow their own open-mindedness on the issue of open borders. The exact vote was never revealed, but my team won. Enjoy!
Bryan,
What empirical data would falsify your belief in open borders?
So if X or Y or Z happened it would cause you to change your position.
Are there any real world events that would cause you to change your mind on open borders?
I can think of things that would falsify my believe that open borders were bad, but none of them have happened yet. A lot of people thought they would happen a couple of decades ago, but they didn't, which is part of why I've come to this position (I used to be pro-immigration and have gradually become more and more against it).
I honestly don't get "bordertarians". Immigration restrictions are soooo antithetical to libertarian principles, but yet, based on my experience in libertarian forums, there are a LOT of bordertarians. These groups were mainly populated by Americans? Is this just American thing? Do American libertarians take on the flavours of the American right? Worldwide, how do libertarians view immigration?