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This is a solution that will come about naturally at some point in human history - it is our fate. That being said, it will not happen in this lifetime for any of us. That's okay, the state of being for humanity is not quite ready for it, although getting close (relatively speaking).
"Like an army falling, one by one by one" - Linkin Park
Oh joy.
A one world mass of humanity, all consuming their way to well regulated and world government defined happiness, under the watchful eye of the global surveillance grid.
Glad I won't be alive to see it.
And since when are the blog postings of the likes of Ezra Klein considered good fodder for a "liberty forum"?
Is labor a "majik" commodity?He estimates that fully eliminating immigration restrictions worldwide would effectively double the world’s labor supply. This, unsurprisingly, leads to enormous economic growth, such that typical workers in developing countries would see annual wages more than double
The only commodity that increases in value when there is more of it?
What the author doesn't account for is the hidden cost of statism. The inflow of immigrants will lead to a politicians pandering to get their votes by promising to give special handouts for these "disadvantaged poor minorities". Or at the least, it will encourage the political parties to run candidates of a certain ethnicity, regardless of their qualifications, in certain areas so that they can get the votes of one of their own. Does anyone seriously think this wouldn't happen? Democrats already get the black vote by pandering (Kerry in 2004 won 88%, Obama in 2008 won 95%), but similar things can happen w/ Republicans - 2/3 of Mormons are Republican~Republican leaning yet Romney got 90% of the Mormon vote. That's not a coincidence.But once capital adjusts between countries to account for the new situation, the wage decline goes away and workers in rich countries do just as well as they were doing before.
Milton Friedman had it right - open borders are no compatible with the welfare state. I didn't watch much of the 2012 LP debates, but in the '08 Reason debate pretty much every LP candidate said the same thing
Real productivity increases the purchasing power of labor, which equates to wage growth in real terms. Specialization of labor is a wonderful thing.
The flood of labor in and of itself is obviously going to dillute the value of current labor, EXCEPT in freedom oriented areas where the labor is unfettered and flourishes, flooding the economy with real goods and services.
The USA is a prime example of how freeing labor creates incredible value and actually raises the value of labor. Sure you get more labor, which on the surface dillutes current labor...but since we are not Marxists, we know that not all labor is created equal. Productive labor, even as it floods the market, does increase the purchasing power of anyone working. Yay for specilization .
**Im not actually supporting the author**
"Like an army falling, one by one by one" - Linkin Park
A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
-Robert A. Heinlein
Specialization creates wealth.
I am not in favor of the free flow of labor among countries,but I am all in favor of the free flow of capital in and especially out of all countries without restriction.That would create wealth.
Maybe one day we can all actually play adult and do something productive in this universe besides killing each other off.
"Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"
Why?
If we specialize we increase overall production. I don't see the point in doing all that stuff by myself when I could do what I'm best in and pay others for what they are specialized in with the money I earn from my profession. It's completely unnecessary to learn how to do/build/fix most stuff when I could earn more money in the time I need to learn and execute these actions.
Is this article serious???? Unskilled labor is going to lead to an economic boom??? This isn't the late 1800s when you actually needed grunt labor to build the railroads west or toil in the coal mines.
I never liked that Heinlein quote,He got it ass backwards.
It is the ant in the anthill that is the identical cog in the machine,not the doctor,mechanic,carpenter and such that specialize.
Last edited by mad cow; 08-22-2012 at 10:35 PM.
If there were sufficient capital goods to make all of that labor productive, the increase in our standard of living would skyrocket. Unfortunately, only market prices can determine how many capital goods and of what type we would need to accomplish that, and the central planners of the world do their best to destroy capital, steal it, and distort market prices, so it would just end up in worldwide misery. The same as it would end up with closed borders.
I prefer to spend my leisure on things a really enjoy, rather than on stuff I might need in case of an apocalypse. Of course there's nothing wrong if one enjoys to learn and carry out all those different skills. But don't insinuate that people who don't like to do that are somehow inferior.
I personally have a whole lot of different interests, but there's still plenty of stuff I can't do and I'm not interested in learning it. I'm more intrigued in searching for truth and knowledge than in learning how to fix my toilett myself. Does that make me boorish and dull?
Even if only two people survive the apocalypse,they will create more wealth if they specialize.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robinson_Crusoe_Economy
How dull or boorish one is has many roots.
We've talked in PMs about what we each do for a living.
So as not to give out any private details, I'd only say that you, or I for that matter, could not have done our jobs effectively and successfully without wearing twenty different hats and having a skill set far beyond one narrow specialty.
Then I guest doctors are insects. Face it, not every Internal Medicine Resident can do surgery, nephrology, or even do psychotherapy. Not every pediatrician could give out the right psychotropic. Why do you think we specialize: it saves time, expertise and delegates talents. Some people are good with pharmacological algorithams and some are good with drilling bone. Some of the sub specialist have to do extra training called Fellowships.
That's baloney- Heinlein is spot-on.Originally Posted by mad cow
I never liked that Heinlein quote,He got it ass backwards.
It is the ant in the anthill that is the identical cog in the machine,not the doctor,mechanic,carpenter and such that specialize.
You can still be a doctor and change your own tires for God's sake.
The ant and the cog in the machine is the person that can only do one thing. When that one thing isn't necessary anymore- what then?
A real man is a Renaissance man - capable of doing many things and doing them well.
There is no spoon.
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