Thursday, December 19, 2013

Bryan Caplan is right

Libertarian Economist as Civil Rights Advocate:
If the NYPD bombed Harlem to kill one rampaging murderer, we'd condemn the NYPD agents as murderers. But if the USAF bombs a town in Afghanistan to kill one rampaging murderer, we forgive the bombers - or cheer them on. If the state of Alabama made it a crime for blacks to take white collar jobs, we'd damn them as racist monsters. But if the entire U.S. government makes it a crime for Mexican citizens to take any U.S. job whatsoever, we accept and justify the policy. What's the difference between "fighting crime" and "fighting terrorism"? Between "Jim Crow" and "protecting our borders"? The mere fact that the victims are foreigners, so up is down and wrong is right.

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