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katieinca's review
4.0
What, I read a book about ethics and immigration in 2020, when I had no brain? Yes, because it's a graphic novel. It spoon fed me. And it did a great job educating me. Complete with CITATIONS to particular economists & such, which I loved. I'm not sure how good a job it does portraying the arguments of people the author disagrees with, but that's my only quibble.
zach1100's review
5.0
Excellent book outlining the vast opportunities open immigration would provide, while seriously discussing the arguments against it and highlighting realistic approaches for increased immigration.
More non-fiction books should be written this way, not necessarily as graphic novel (though that would be great!), but with succinct explanations and serious discussion of all arguments for and against a topic.
“We shouldn’t focus on “what’s good for countries”, we should focus on what’s good for people.”
“As repressive regimes around the world fight a losing battle to keep western culture out. Many in the West see non-western immigrants and say: they’ll never fit in.”
More non-fiction books should be written this way, not necessarily as graphic novel (though that would be great!), but with succinct explanations and serious discussion of all arguments for and against a topic.
“We shouldn’t focus on “what’s good for countries”, we should focus on what’s good for people.”
“As repressive regimes around the world fight a losing battle to keep western culture out. Many in the West see non-western immigrants and say: they’ll never fit in.”
owenneil's review
3.0
I was actually surprised I didn't like this more. Open Borders is a position I've always believe is a good solution for various problems, it seems simple, ethical and fair. However, given the overall lack of support broadly, it wasn't something I put much serious consideration into. I was expecting or hoping this book could bring me around to calling this the position I believed in. While it does make me more positive on the idea, there seemed to be a thick layer of gloss over many of the positions that left me uneasy about some of the conclusions. It seems like it starts from a (potentially valid) position of the the positive overall economic impact, and every other point is more hastily drawn to support that. Many problems are addressed with the idea that it will not be an issue in a generation or two, but people usually only see a few generations in their lifetime, for example. I feel like as somebody who could have been a slam dunk to convince, it is disappointing it failed to convince me more thoroughly. It does encourage me to learn more, and it certainly doesn't discourage the position, but I'm sad it didn't do more.
heatherbermingham's review
4.25
If you're looking for something that kind of covers all the bases as far as arguments for and against immigration, this is it. Caplan is very upfront about the fact that he believes in open borders - real open borders, not the kind we allegedly have now where people get stopped all the time - and he tackles all the major arguments against more immigration: They're stealing our jobs! They're a drain on taxpayers! They're destroying our culture by refusing to assimilate! They're criminals! I found a couple of his arguments a little less compelling - he tries to cover a *lot* of ground and I think that hurts him in a couple of places - but he uses tons of data, graphics, references etc. and there are SO MANY references in the back to dig into. In my favorite chapter, he argues that if all the anti-immigration arguments were true, there are still a lot of things we could do that aren't just shutting the door on everyone and then offers real, honest to god policy suggestions. I've been reading a lot about the border recently, both fiction and nonfiction, and this was probably the nail in the coffin for me. I don't think there's a good reason - ethical, moral, or economic - for super closed borders.
barefootbetsy's review
informative
reflective
fast-paced
3.75
I have mixed thoughts and feelings about this book. While there are certainly things I agree with and appreciate, I really disliked the emphasis on IQ (which is a culturally biased measurement) and some of his points were at least bordering on being racist. IQ is also only one type of intelligence and I believe it does a disservice to place so much emphasis on that one measurement -- but USian culture does that already so... in context perhaps it was appropriate for him to address that concern.
I'm personally anti-capitalist so I think that some of my hesitation while reading this book was due to our differing economic ideologies.
In general, as I watch the current ramping up of anti-immigration sentiment and weaponization of immigration as a political issue (it is the end of January 2024 currently), I'm inclined to believe that it is more important than ever to re-examine our restrictive and outright CRUEL immigration policies. Even when I fundamentally disagree with someone who's pro-immigration about other issues.
I'm troubled also by the pro-consumption message in this book, but again I don't find that enough of a reason to dislike the book because the author is addressing USians primarily and we live in a society that is already built on over-consumption and capitalism.
In the end I give this book a 3.75 rating which will be rounded up to a 4 on Goodreads.
It was certainly a provocative and thought-provoking read.
I'm personally anti-capitalist so I think that some of my hesitation while reading this book was due to our differing economic ideologies.
In general, as I watch the current ramping up of anti-immigration sentiment and weaponization of immigration as a political issue (it is the end of January 2024 currently), I'm inclined to believe that it is more important than ever to re-examine our restrictive and outright CRUEL immigration policies. Even when I fundamentally disagree with someone who's pro-immigration about other issues.
I'm troubled also by the pro-consumption message in this book, but again I don't find that enough of a reason to dislike the book because the author is addressing USians primarily and we live in a society that is already built on over-consumption and capitalism.
In the end I give this book a 3.75 rating which will be rounded up to a 4 on Goodreads.
It was certainly a provocative and thought-provoking read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Violence, Child death, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Xenophobia, Death, Racism, Racial slurs, and Deportation