Moral Fake Virtue and the Political Gotcha Game

Large groups of illegal aliens were apprehended by Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents near Yuma, AZ on June 4, 2019. The Yuma Sector continues to see a large number of Central Americans per day crossing illegally and surrendering to agents. CBP photo by Jerry Glaser.

• The Biden White House has said the transferring of immigrants is “shameful.”
• New York MayorEric Adams describes them as “horrific.”
• Leading Democrats condemn them as “literally human trafficking” and “crimes against humanity.”

Gerald Baker (WSJ) wonders where the moral high ground is in the immigration debate.  The avatars of goodness lecture their opponents on the “supposed moral repugnance of bringing the border crisis direct to the homes and streets of people for whom the effects of their neglect barely registers as an inconvenience.”

The Abbott Plan vs Abject Moral Failure

How is it that the Biden administration’s own shipping of thousands of migrants to New York, Los Angeles, and elsewhere isn’t judged by the same standards, wonders Mr. Baker.

Homeland Security Department officials reportedly dubbed the moves the “Abbott plan,” in jocular homage to the earlier transfers organized by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, whose actions progressives put on a moral par with those of the greatest despots in history.

… it isn’t simply a case of administrative incompetence but an act of abject moral failure by a government to fail to secure its borders.

The Immorality of Capitalism?

The scales of virtue must balance, continues Mr. Baker, using economic distribution as an example. He admits to the serious challenge the U.S. has with inequality.

It’s unhealthy that modern capitalism creates vast disparities. But is it really immoral, as the contemporary political debate tells us?

The Joys of American-Led Capitalism

American-led capitalism—unencumbered by the modern mandates of ESG, impact investing and the rest—has done an astonishing job of creating wealth for all, lifting more people out of poverty than any economic system ever devised. The morally righteous urge to rein it in has always led to greater poverty, and the current prevailing ideology will be no different