America first, foreigners and aliens not welcome

By Jason Brennan

The problem with communitarianism is that many communitarians make for bad community members. Many of them are “society first, individual second!” to the point of being anti-social.

They aren’t the kind of people you’d want to live near.

Look, I get why people like community. I live in a fairly tight-knit community myself. We have little parades and fun runs. Various civics groups throw get-togethers all year long. The PTA works miracles. People know their neighbours. We have block parties. People come out to watch the various dad bands (and even the occasional mom band) play at the pool club. It’s nice.

But “America First!” isn’t just a plea to put America first or to treat our co-nationals as members of a giant community. Rather, it’s quite literally a threat, backed up with violence.

A lot of people resonated with Donald Trump’s ‘America First’ message. | Photo Courtesy: The Daily Beast

Suppose you have a group of friends in high school. One of your friends starts to hang out with people in a different clique. You don’t like that–you think your friend isn’t taking your friendship seriously. So, you talk among yourselves and come up with a solution: You decide you’ll beat up your friend next time he tries to hang out with the other kids. (Or, alternatively, you decide you’ll let him hang out with the other kinds, but only if he first pays you $3000. Otherwise you’ll beat him up.)

[su_pullquote]Rather, it shows you are contemptible pieces of crap.[/su_pullquote]

In this case, this doesn’t show that you really are loving, good friends who care a lot about community. Rather, it shows you are contemptible pieces of crap. You’re using anti-social methods to force people to maintain the kind of community you want. No reasonable person would be friends with you.

Nothing changes when it comes to how we spend our money rather than whom we befriend:

Random American: “Hmmm. I think I’m going to splurge on an entry-level luxury car. While Cadillac has made great strides over the past seven years, I’m going to go with a BMW 3-series instead of the Caddy ATS.”
America First! Guy: “Are you kidding? Don’t you think you should buy American?”
Random American: “Well, I considered it, but the 3-series better suits my needs and wants. I mean, I believe there is a time and place for charity, but I don’t buy cars out of a sense of charity.”
America First! Guy: “You know what, bub? If you aren’t gonna buy American voluntarily, I’m going to make you do it. This here gun says you better buy that GM car, or otherwise I’m going to take $3000 out of your bank account to spend on whatever I damn well please. And you better hire an American to clean your house. And you better not rent your other house to some Haitian or Dominican. You put America first, or I’ll make you put it first.”

Such communitarianism can fall prey to sub-movements indulging in xenophobia and violence. Hitler’s Germany is one example. | Photo Courtesy: CNN

Even if you think Random American should buy a GM car (a questionable claim at best), the America First! guy is a piece of garbage.

If you think America First! justifies economic protectionism, then you aren’t worthy of being in community with anyone.

You’re like a teenager who beats up your friends when they find new friends. You’re like a priest who beats up people when they convert to a different sect. You’re like an abusive boyfriend who threatens to beat up his girlfriend when she wants to see other guys.

In short: You’re an abusive member of the community. You’ve shown your true colours. The louder you make your threats and the more America is filled with people like you, the less reason I have to care about America or want to put it first.

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Jason Brennan is the Robert J. and Elizabeth Flanagan Family Associate Professor of Strategy, Economics, Ethics, and Public Policy at the McDonough School of Business and Associate Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University.

This article was originally published on Bleeding Heart Libertarians.

Featured Image Courtesy: Monovisions

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