The book was entertaining and informative. Before reading this novel I had no idea that there was an economic factor to immigration. The author writes to the layperson so you don't need to know much about economics in order to understand what he is saying. What Caplan says about the economics is that people who emigrate will get jobs and pay taxes. Their children will be well educated and contribute to society. He believes that this is a win win for everyone even if it costs you something up front when they first arrive.

Some of the author's arguments seemed preachy. In the middle of my read, I realized that he has footnotes at the back of the book for every argument that he makes. However, there is no notation on the page advising that these notes exist or where he obtained his facts. I ended up re-reading the book in order to get his, and my own, facts straight. His data comes from good sources and his arguments for open borders are compelling. Caplan mainly argues that low-skilled immigrants should be allowed unrestricted entry into the U. S. ( )

Overall I liked it- an economist makes the case for open borders, illustrated by SMBC's [a:Zach Weinersmith|4094380|Zach Weinersmith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494889920p2/4094380.jpg][a:Zach Weinersmith|4094380|Zach Weinersmith|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1494889920p2/4094380.jpg], and though addressed to a general audience, as an economist he makes the argument that allowing free movement of people is primarily a lucrative financial boon globally, that the host country gains needed labor while the workers who come here benefit from quality of life as well as sending money back home which raises quality of life there.

The suggestion of using keyhole solutions to address specific conservative grievances is literal gatekeeping, though, and already contributes to the astronomical amount of time waiting "in line" for an opening, whether it be for skilled workers or people who marry and must prove via documents/social media posts/friend testimony/etc. that their relationship is legitimate.

And of course, so much of discussion over immigration policy is based on old evergreen xenophobic arguments- the same "they won't assimilate because they're too Other/they bring disease and drugs/etc." arguments were applied to the Chinese 150 years ago and repeated for various other groups, so unfortunately addressing the actual "economic concerns" by citizenists may fall on deaf ears. Could be a persuasive argument for that elusive moderate, though. ( )

I have never heard or read anything about the Open Borders topic or going beyond the popular opinions on immigration policies. This book is an excellent introduction and a compelling argument on why they should be more immigrants. I really feel I have gotten a high level picture with more nuances about this. I love the medium of graphic novel, as it can reach a lot many more people. ( )

Economist Bryan Caplan and cartoonist Zachary Weinersmith. What a bizarro-world combo, yet oddly super compelling. This is a personal favorite for me because it combines two passions of mine: advocacy for robust immigration reform (specifically pro-open borders) and the wit and art of the Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal webcomic. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this book when it was first announced, and was thrilled to attend their book launch event at the Cato Institute. What they accomplished in this book is exactly what I think has been needed in the immigration debate: an argument for the extreme that doesn't come across as condescending or irrational.

Caplan lays out the economic and philosophical/moral principals that back a case for open borders in a way that gets to the crux of it all, while being easy to digest. Caplan's referencing real world examples and hypotheticals to explain each point and break down the minutiae really made it easy to follow each concept. Caplan systematically dismantles each argument against open borders, whether it be economic arguments, national security/law and order, or just purely moral arguments. I thought one of the book's strongest sections is where Caplan takes on the main different ethical frameworks and shows how each one makes the case for open borders. It really demonstrated how arguing against immigration really relies on fear rather than logic, undermining many of the arguments against it.

This is the kind of book needed in a time when immigration has become such a prominent issue in global, national, and local politics. While personally I am pro-open borders myself, I understand that the political realities make this a near impossibility, at least in my lifetime. But as Caplan explains, while he too is pro-open borders, his goal is to shift the Overton Window to make immigration liberalization a more viable political position. By making open borders a mainstream position, but still the extreme position, it makes other immigration liberalization measures more reasonable to the general public. By removing the stigma of "only radicals believe in open borders," we can make the case for immigration liberalization more readily accepted.

I truly believe that everyone needs to read this book. Not just people who might be on the fence about open borders, but people fully opposed to it, and people fully in favor of it too. There's much to be gained by reading Bryan and Zach's work, whether its a changing of your opposition to immigration, or a better understanding of the arguments to be made in favor of it to make you a better advocate for it. ( )

I support much more legal immigration than now exists, and I thought the book had a lot of good points, but it seemed kind of tone deaf as well. Caplan tried to respond to many arguments against immigration but didn’t really address the feelings behind those arguments. The comic book format was certainly fun and easy to read, but the illustrations weren’t especially endearing to me. ( )