>On the theoretical side, the best response is Doug Henwood on immigration.
>He had a three minute bit on it in passing on his most recent show:
>
>http://www.leftbusinessobserver.com/Radio.html#060406
>
>around minute 5:30. Below are the key bits:
Thanks for the plug.
I also said in this segment that it would be very difficult to mount a principled argument for closing the borders. One argument from principle would be a desire to preserve some notion of cultural purity - an odious principle, but still a principle. The "dean of feminist economists," Barbara Bergmann, has argued for putting up a fence around the first world because the teeming hordes threaten feminism and other liberal values. That's a principled argument of a sort, but also an odious principle. There's also a desire to defend income disparities, but that descends from principle to entitlement and greed. It would be very messy practically to open the borders, for sure, but there's no moral ground for keeping them shut.
Doug