Overview

"Ballot box voting is often considered the essence of political freedom. But it has two major shortcomings: individual voters have little chance of making a difference, and they face strong incentives to remain ignorant about the issues at stake. ""Voting with your feet,"" however, avoids both these pitfalls and offers a wider range of choices. In Free to Move, Ilya Somin explains how broadening opportunities for foot voting can greatly enhance political liberty for millions of people around the world. People can vote with their feet through international migration, choosing where to live within a federal system, and by making decisions in the private sector. Somin addresses a variety of common objections to expanded migration rights, including claims that the ""self-determination"" of natives requires giving them the power to exclude migrants, and arguments that migration is likely to have harmful side effects, such as undermining political institutions, overburdening the welfare state, increasing crime and terrorism, and spreading undesirable cultural values. While these objections are usually directed at international migration, Somin shows how a consistent commitment to such theories would also justify severe restrictions on domestic freedom of movement. By making a systematic case for a more open world, Free to Move challenges conventional wisdom on both the left and the right. This revised and expanded edition addresses key new issues, including fears that migration could spread dangerous diseases, such as Covid-19, claims that immigrants might generate a political backlash that threatens democracy, and the impact of remote work."

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9780197618776

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Reviews

It is the best book on geographic mobility and exit that has been written to date, and... I am happy to recommend it heartily. * Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution * In this excellent book, Somin makes a compelling case that migration * or foot voting * Ilya Somin shows that mobility * the freedom to move from here to there * First rate. * Robert Guest, Foreign Editor, the economist, and author of Borderless Economics * Free to Move shows that foot voting works better than we think, is more common than we think, and that there are many opportunities to improve political freedom by encouraging foot voting.... Chapter 5.... convincingly rejects both individualistic and communitarian arguments that self-determination can justify the exclusion of people. It offers as clear and convincing a rejection of discrimination based on parentage and place of birth as this author has ever seen... One of the outstanding features of the book is that it is robust to criticism. The reason is that Somin deals with potential critiques in a fair way. There are no straw person arguments. * Ilia Murtazashvili, Public Choice * A powerful book. * Richard A. Epstein, New York University School of Law, author of The Classical Liberal Constitution * Ilya Somin's book is terrific. * Guy-Uriel Charles, Law professor at Duke Law School and the co-director of the Center on Law, Race, and Politics * Ilya Somin gives the reader a theory of Federalism writ (internationally) large: A great book. * Professor Roderick Hills, NYU School of Law * Immigration policy is the most debated and controversial issue of our time....Related to these political and policy developments is the perceived partisan sorting of voters into different geographic regions, the rise of.... identity politics, and a general sense of deepening political polarization.... Ilya Somin deftly combines these issues into one forceful thesis in his new book, Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom. There are many new books about immigration, but Somin's is the only one that argues that the ability to exit a political jurisdiction and enter another... is the cheapest and best way to improve individual political freedom.... I've read many of Somin's other books and I recommend them all, but if you only have time to read one work by this prolific scholar to understand much of his thinking on current policy issues, Free to Move is the book for you. * Alex Nowrasteh, Cato Institute * [I] don't agree with some points, but a lot of really smart and clear arguments here, and some particularly great ripostes to common anti-migration positions. * John Washington, author of The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum and the US-Mexican Border and Beyond * Somin offers a compelling and ingenious justification for free global movement ... The book's combination of rigorous thought and engaging argument makes Free to Move a must-read for those interested in the future of immigration law and policy. * Peter Margulies, Lawfare * This eminently readable, tightly-argued, and compelling book is a model for how empirically-informed democratic theory ought to proceed. Somin shows us that in modern democracies, even when everyone has equal voice, that voice is usually close to worthless. Taking political freedom seriously requires a serious solution: foot voting. We need to ensure everyone has the right and power to move and work where they please. Exit beats voice almost every time, and the competition isn't even close. Somin deftly considers and rebuts every major objection to his view. In the end, the conclusion is inescapable: the arguments for democracy don't so much justify participatory democracy; they instead justify real freedom of movement. * Jason Brennan, Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Term Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; author of The Ethics of Voting * Many find majority voting with ballots to be the highest guarantor of liberty. They may never have found themselves in the minority on a question vital to their well-being. Ilya Somin brilliantly and accessibly points to the central, additional role of voting with your feet * moving to a place with better policy * Ilya Somin has done it again, producing a compelling new book, rich with insights about democratic theory, law, and economics. Free to Move takes a familiar idea * that people should be allowed and encouraged to choose the entities that govern them by moving between jurisdictions *

Free to Move shows that foot voting works better than we think, is more common than we think, and that there are many opportunities to improve political freedom by encouraging foot voting.... Chapter 5.... convincingly rejects both individualistic and communitarian arguments that self-determination can justify the exclusion of people. It offers as clear and convincing a rejection of discrimination based on parentage and place of birth as this author has ever seen... One of the outstanding features of the book is that it is robust to criticism. The reason is that Somin deals with potential critiques in a fair way. There are no straw person arguments. -- Ilia Murtazashvili, Public Choice A powerful book. -- Richard A. Epstein, New York University School of Law, author of The Classical Liberal Constitution. If Jason Brennan's Against Democracy met Bryan Caplan's Open Borders, the result would be Ilya Somin's great book from last year[2020]: Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom. In a dense 186-page book Somin does what these two great scholars did separately over hundreds of pages: undermining voting as the most effectful participation in civic life and showing that arguments against foreigners coming to our shores don't hold water. -- Joakim Book, Writer, researcher and editor on all things money, finance and financial history., American Institute for Economic Research Ilya Somin's book is terrific. -- Guy-Uriel Charles, Law professor at Duke Law School and the co-director of the Center on Law, Race, and Politics, Twitter Ilya Somin gives the reader a theory of Federalism writ (internationally) large: A great book. -- Professor Roderick Hills, NYU School of Law, Twitter Immigration policy is the most debated and controversial issue of our time....Related to these political and policy developments is the perceived partisan sorting of voters into different geographic regions, the rise of.... identity politics, and a general sense of deepening political polarization.... Ilya Somin deftly combines these issues into one forceful thesis in his new book, Free to Move: Foot Voting, Migration, and Political Freedom. There are many new books about immigration, but Somin's is the only one that argues that the ability to exit a political jurisdiction and enter another... is the cheapest and best way to improve individual political freedom.... I've read many of Somin's other books and I recommend them all, but if you only have time to read one work by this prolific scholar to understand much of his thinking on current policy issues, Free to Move is the book for you. -- Alex Nowrasteh, Cato Institute [I] don't agree with some points, but a lot of really smart and clear arguments here, and some particularly great ripostes to common anti-migration positions. -- John Washington, author of The Dispossessed: A Story of Asylum and the US-Mexican Border and Beyond Somin offers a compelling and ingenious justification for free global movement ... The book's combination of rigorous thought and engaging argument makes Free to Move a must-read for those interested in the future of immigration law and policy. -- Peter Margulies, Lawfare It is the best book on geographic mobility and exit that has been written to date, and... I am happy to recommend it heartily. -- Tyler Cowen, Marginal Revolution In this excellent book, Somin makes a compelling case that migration -- or foot voting -- provides far more political power than voting. Any one voter has a trivially small chance of altering an election, but any household can choose a new state and local government by simply moving. This insight implies that devolving power to local governments will generate far more political voice than any conceivable reform to national elections. Freer international migration would empower even more people to choose their own government. Somin's case is strong, his thinking is clear, and his writing is eloquent. -- Edward Glaeser, Fred and Eleanor Glimp Professor of Economics, Harvard University and author of The Triumph of the City Ilya Somin shows that mobility-the freedom to move from here to there-might be the most underrated underpinning of a free society. It is especially important in America, where states can compete with one another to have social policies welcoming to enterprise and liberty. Voting is important; so is what Somin calls 'foot voting.'--George F. Will, columnist, Washington Post, and author of The Conservative Sensibility This eminently readable, tightly-argued, and compelling book is a model for how empirically-informed democratic theory ought to proceed. Somin shows us that in modern democracies, even when everyone has equal voice, that voice is usually close to worthless. Taking political freedom seriously requires a serious solution: foot voting. We need to ensure everyone has the right and power to move and work where they please. Exit beats voice almost every time, and the competition isn't even close. Somin deftly considers and rebuts every major objection to his view. In the end, the conclusion is inescapable: the arguments for democracy don't so much justify participatory democracy; they instead justify real freedom of movement.--Jason Brennan, Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Term Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; author of The Ethics of Voting Many find majority voting with ballots to be the highest guarantor of liberty. They may never have found themselves in the minority on a question vital to their well-being. Ilya Somin brilliantly and accessibly points to the central, additional role of voting with your feet - moving to a place with better policy - in protecting liberty. His book mines a deep vein of law and philosophy, but you'll find mercifully little jargon here. What you will find is a book that gives to common assumptions a taut and compelling challenge, and might leave you transformed. It offers a new way to think about international migration, but not just that. It is nothing less than a proposal for a higher form of democracy, built on the critical roles of both ballot-voting and foot-voting as guardians of freedom. -- Michael Clemens, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development and author of The Walls of Nations Ilya Somin has done it again, producing a compelling new book, rich with insights about democratic theory, law, and economics. Free to Move takes a familiar idea-that people should be allowed and encouraged to choose the entities that govern them by moving between jurisdictions-and shows why it is valuable and how taking it seriously as a form of political choice provides a clear set of answers to some of our most pressing social problems. Those who share Somin's belief in the value of 'voting with your feet, ' will see the scope of their commitment pushed by his consistency and range, and those who do not will find themselves challenged and perhaps even convinced.--David Schleicher, Professor, Yale Law School

Author Information

Ilya Somin is Professor of Law at George Mason University. He is the author of Democracy and Political Ignorance and The Grasping Hand: Kelo v. City of New London and the Limits of Eminent Domain, and a regular contributor to the Volokh Conspiracy law and politics blog, hosted by Reason.

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