Chandran Kukathas on "Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society"

On this episode, Peter Boettke chats with political theorist Chandran Kukathas on his latest book, Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society (Routledge, 2025), which addresses the most important ethical and political questions about immigration and aims to teach by questioning rather than preaching. He urges conceptual clarity about terms like “civilization,” “state,” and “immigration,” and argues that framing debates strictly as “justice” disputes is unhelpful amid deep moral disagreement. Building on his book, Immigration and Freedom, he warns that immigration control often curtails citizens’ freedoms and highlights how restrictive policies can create a hostile climate toward migrants even where overall public support for immigration remains strong.

Dr. Chandran Kukathas is Lee Kong Chian Chair Professor of Political Science at School of Social Sciences at Singapore Management University and a Distinguished Affiliated Fellow at the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center. He is the author of many books, including Immigration and Freedom (Princeton University Press, 2021) and The Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford University Press, 2007).

Show Notes:

• F.A. Hayek’s book, New Studies in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and the History of Ideas
• F.A. Hayek’s book, Law, Legislation, and Liberty: Volume 19
• John Rawls’ book, A Theory of Justice
• Milton and Rose Friedman’s book, Free to Choose
• Free To Choose: The Original 1980 TV Series
• David Schmidtz’s book, Elements of Justice
• Stephen Macedo’s book, Liberal Virtues
• Michael Clemens’ paper, “Why Don't Remittances Appear to Affect Growth?” (The Economic Journal, 2018)