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48 Hitotsubashi J.L. & Pol. 1 (2020)

handle is hein.journals/hbijllw48 and id is 1 raw text is: 








Hitotsubashi Journal of Law and Politics 48 (2020), pp.1-8.  C Hitotsubashi University


           LIBERTARIANS ON RESTRICTIONS ON IMMIGRATION*



                                    SUSUMU MORIMURA




                                              Abstract

         It is generally understood that libertarians support free immigration and oppose  closed
     borders. There are, however, a not insubstantial number of libertarians or classical liberals who
     argue for restrictions on immigration. They include such eminent  figures as Friedrich Hayek
     and later Murray Rothbard. In this paper, I examine typical arguments among  libertarians both
     for and against such restrictions.
         While  a  standard libertarian case for open borders  appeals to prospective immigrants'
     freedom  of  movement   as  well  as economic   considerations, some  libertarians argue  for
     restrictions on immigration for such reasons as the host state's property rights in its territory,
     social or cultural integrity and the citizens' desire not to associate with immigrants.
         Those  alleged reasons are, however, incoherent and/or unconvincing.  First, while a state
     has legitimate property rights in its land, it cannot justifiably exclude foreigners as far as it
     permits its citizens to use it. Public property should be open to all. Second, since a state or
     nation is not a private voluntary community based upon its members' agreement, but rather, an
     involuntary community   whose  membership   is usually difficult to change, the application of
     freedom of association to citizenship is misconceived. Third, while some citizens are reluctant
     to associate with immigrants, they are not forced to do  so even  when  immigrants  enter the
     state, and perhaps other citizens are quite happy to associate with or hire them. Fourth, from a
     libertarian perspective, it is not a state's business to preserve its cultural or social integrity.
         Though   my  conclusion that those libertarians' arguments for restrictions on immigration
     are unsuccessful  -   unlike the  standard libertarian case for open  borders  -   is hardly
     surprising, it is still worth demonstrating, if only because libertarianism is often confused with
     conservatism in popular or partisan political discourse.

Content
I     Introduction
II.   Libertarians against  Restrictions on Immigration
III.  Libertarians for Restrictions  on Immigration
IV.   Concluding   Remarks





  * This paper was originally presented at the XXIX World Congress of the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy
at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland, 7-12 July 2019.
  * *  Research Professor, Graduate School of Law, Hitotsubashi University, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan. E-mail:
morimura.susumu@r.hit-u.ac.jp

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