Necessity of Immigration Control
Even with creative solutions to population control within the borders of a country, that is not enough. Hardin argues that there needs to also be stringent restrictions on immigration, otherwise, the progress made through population control will be offset by an influx of the great multitude of masses, which more than offsets the delicate equilibrium.
Conceivably, this is what happened in China, when the one-child-policy was instituted. City-dwellers were restricted in the number of children allowed, however rural farmers were not. Today, there is a huge problem in China of numerous farmers migrating into the city to look for work. At the same time, data suggests dubious results from the half-hearted population control measures undertaken by the Chinese government (half-hearted in planning, not dedication)...
Personally, I'm not sure...
My family immigrated here from other places. In fact, most Americans were descended from immigrants (most people in the world are the descendants of immigrants, technically). Rhetorically, I feel compelled to argue for continuing the open-border policy of the U.S. (not truly open border, but better than most other places).
On the other hand, rationally speaking, there are very real limits to an open-border immigration policy. The criticisms pointed out by Hardin are very real, and nearly impossible to refute. It makes the arguments on border laws even more complex.
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