One of the most common ways to "refute" libertarian ideas is to point out how a supposedly libertarian ideal is beaten out by a statist one. For example, let's imagine that someone criticizes the idea of unrestricted, private schooling by pointing out that private schools in California do not educate as well as do state schools in country X. The conclusion that we are supposed to draw is that private schools are not superior to state schools.
The question that is never asked (or answered) is whether those private schools are really free to teach whatever they want. A simple look at California law will answer that question with a resounding no. Any private school in California will have its options severely curtailed by the state's idea of the proper (mandatory) curriculum. As such, private schools in California are far from the libertarian ideal of a completely free school that merely attends to the desires of its client base.
Unfortunately, this same method is sometimes used by presumably "libertarian" commentators to deride libertarian thought in some areas. The most recent example is the campaign on Lew Rockwell and the posts by Bionic Mosquito denigrating the idea of open borders. Bionic Mosquito asks: If open borders work so well, then why is Germany having such a problem with Syrian refugees? The question (never asked or answered) is whether Germany's borders are the libertarian ideal of open borders.
I don't exactly keep up to date on the latest details of German policy (immigration or otherwise), but the last article I read said that the refugee problem was exacerbated by the long lines. What kind of lines? Well, to check in with the relevant German state authority on immigration, to show the proper papers, to receive the proper authorization, and to be forcibly resettled in some part of Germany where the residents don't want the immigrants and the immigrants don't particularly want to live.
Is that your idea of libertarian open border utopia? It's not mine by a long shot. You see, my idea of open borders is that the border is open. Yes, my idea of open borders is like the border between California and Nevada where the most intrusive thing that happens to you is some government official asks you whether you're bringing any fruit into the state. There are no papers, no lines, no forced resettlement, and no permission seeking. It's just an open border.
Get it?
While I'm on the topic of Europe, immigration, Muslims, violence, etc., perhaps I should mention Walter Williams' column. I'll just sum it up for you: Rape in Sweden has increased by 1,472 percent. Many of the perpetrators are Muslim immigrants. Police now have certain no-go zones, which are filled with angry Muslims who throw rocks at police cars. Therefore, Muslim culture is causing these angry Muslims to rape and throw rocks at police cars.
Now, whenever you see a causal argument, in which a cause is suggested for some effect, you should ask yourself whether there might be some other cause. Let's engage in a simple thought experiment, shall we? Let's say that you were uber-disgruntled with the police and decided to throw rocks at every police car that entered your neighborhood. How many hours a day could you guard your neighborhood?
I cannot speak for everyone out there, but certainly my ability to expel police cars from my neighborhood would be severely limited by my working hours. This leads me to believe that most of the rock throwers in these no-go neighborhoods probably don't have jobs. This leads me to my next question: Are they angry with authority figures because they have a different culture or because they can't get a job? This led to my next question: Is unemployment disproportionately high among immigrants in Sweden? Well, Sweden's Muslims have unemployment rates 4 to 10 times higher than those of non-Muslims. Do you think that might be a contributing factor? Why do you think Muslims have higher unemployment rates? Well, I'm no expert, but I'm guessing that foreign-born residents of Sweden have fewer skills than do native-born residents (including, perhaps, less ability to speak Swedish) and it turns out that some 90 percent of the Swedish workforce is covered by a minimum wage.
Now, if you're not up on the latest thought on minimum wage, it turns out that high minimum wages are believed to cause greater unemployment than would otherwise exist. My conclusion, therefore, is that Sweden is suffering not from immigration but from laws and policies that outlaw employment. In fact, Walter Williams himself agrees that the minimum wage outlaws employment for the less skilled workers among the populace.
Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, and other places have problems. This is undeniably true. The solution to these problems is not greater government involvement in the lives of citizens but less. Personally, I never thought I'd see the day that some of the premier libertarian websites and thinkers would rationalize statist solutions to government-created problems, but I guess I was overly optimistic.
