public relations letters (#90749)
by Robert Higgs on June 7, 2006 at 2:28 PM

Although I had no part in drafting this letter, I am willing to maintain that one must understand its import, if any, in the context of the present immigration debate and the ongoing political actions with regard to immigration legislation. Viewed in context, the letter would seem to oppose many of the more vicious proposals now being considered.

One might also bear in mind that such letters are intended to be displayed somehow before the general public, to sway ordinary people in a certain direction. If a letter simply announced the anarcho-capitalist position on this or any other topic, it would not have any practical effect on the readers.

On the other hand, on the probably sound principle that 1,000 economists can't be right, one might wish to dismiss the letter on that ground alone.

I will say, in case anybody cares, that despite permitting my name to appear on the letter, it does not represent my own views accurately. I am not for (or against) open (or closed) borders; I am against borders and the organized criminal gangs who draw them in the dirt and then threaten with violence anyone who crosses the line. Of course, my ideal world is not about the erupt.