Nathan Goodman
@nathanpgoodman.bsky.social
Economist who studies institutions, political economy, polycentricity, defense & peace economics, and border militarization.
https://gunsguardsandgovernance.substack.com/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1Ue5NBMAAAAJ&hl=en
https://gunsguardsandgovernance.substack.com/
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=1Ue5NBMAAAAJ&hl=en
Pinned
Guns, Guards, and Governance
To preserve self-governance, challenge militarization.
open.substack.com
I just launched my Substack. It's called "Guns, Guards, and Governance."
In my first post, I discuss the core theme I hope to cover: Border militarization undermines self-governance & threatens liberty for all, including citizens.
open.substack.com/pub/gunsguar...
In my first post, I discuss the core theme I hope to cover: Border militarization undermines self-governance & threatens liberty for all, including citizens.
open.substack.com/pub/gunsguar...
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
Thanks to @annalekasmiller.bsky.social at @truthdig.com for interviewing me for this great article on material actions against ICE. I hope it helps folks joining the fight against ICE & CBP. Check out Anna's great Toolbox article; it's a great primer! Be sure to peep the toolbox for actions to take!
A Guide to Meaningful Action Against ICE
ICE actions have produced thousands of first-time activists — and it’s easier than ever to resist locally.
www.truthdig.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:53 PM
Thanks to @annalekasmiller.bsky.social at @truthdig.com for interviewing me for this great article on material actions against ICE. I hope it helps folks joining the fight against ICE & CBP. Check out Anna's great Toolbox article; it's a great primer! Be sure to peep the toolbox for actions to take!
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
This 14th Amendment/Reconstruction angle is something I only recently noticed. Would be interested in buddy check from @jamellebouie.net, @unlawfulentries.bsky.social @asrust.bsky.social @patsobkowski.com. Would birthright citizenship in 1868 imply open borders by common understanding?
“At the time of the Reconstruction Amendments, when Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment established citizenship for those “born or naturalized in the United States,” America had functionally open borders.” www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Abolition, Amnesty, Decriminalization, Open Borders
You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:19 PM
This 14th Amendment/Reconstruction angle is something I only recently noticed. Would be interested in buddy check from @jamellebouie.net, @unlawfulentries.bsky.social @asrust.bsky.social @patsobkowski.com. Would birthright citizenship in 1868 imply open borders by common understanding?
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
“I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of humanity, and when there is a supposed conflict between human and national rights, it is safe to go the side of humanity.” - Frederick Douglass www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Abolition, Amnesty, Decriminalization, Open Borders
You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:29 PM
“I know of no rights of race superior to the rights of humanity, and when there is a supposed conflict between human and national rights, it is safe to go the side of humanity.” - Frederick Douglass www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
The racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
Why don't you?
Why don't you?
“We enforced immigration laws before ICE, and enforcement responsibilities deemed necessary can be shifted to other agencies. This is far from radical. ICE's presence is intolerable and they must go.” www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Abolition, Amnesty, Decriminalization, Open Borders
You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 11, 2026 at 7:29 PM
The racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
Why don't you?
Why don't you?
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
What does open borders mean? It means the individual has presumptive freedom of movement. You can cross borders without suspicion or harassment. If you choose, there is a clear, easy path to citizenship. That's it. Open borders treats everyone like a potential fellow citizen, like a human being. /🧵
January 28, 2026 at 5:15 PM
What does open borders mean? It means the individual has presumptive freedom of movement. You can cross borders without suspicion or harassment. If you choose, there is a clear, easy path to citizenship. That's it. Open borders treats everyone like a potential fellow citizen, like a human being. /🧵
"At the best of times in the best administrations, tightly controlled borders result in dead bodies in deserts and washed up on shores. ... A closed border means violence and death."
Excellent essay by @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Excellent essay by @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Abolition, Amnesty, Decriminalization, Open Borders
You may not believe immigration restrictions are racist, but racists believe immigration restrictions are racist.
www.liberalcurrents.com
February 11, 2026 at 10:11 PM
"At the best of times in the best administrations, tightly controlled borders result in dead bodies in deserts and washed up on shores. ... A closed border means violence and death."
Excellent essay by @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Excellent essay by @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com www.liberalcurrents.com/abolition-am...
Great thread from @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com
Now is the time to envisage what we actually want from an immigration policy. There is a chance that in the next few years we'll actually get a stab at it.
To this end: the violence and racism of immigration restriction has always been there. 🧵
To this end: the violence and racism of immigration restriction has always been there. 🧵
February 11, 2026 at 10:07 PM
Great thread from @paulcrider.liberalcurrents.com
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
#OpenBorders is the Good Samaritan. It's the priests you see putting their bodies between refugees and jackbooted thugs.
Open borders is setting the prisoners free.
Open borders is setting the prisoners free.
February 11, 2026 at 5:02 PM
#OpenBorders is the Good Samaritan. It's the priests you see putting their bodies between refugees and jackbooted thugs.
Open borders is setting the prisoners free.
Open borders is setting the prisoners free.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
#OpenBorders is "Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains" AND it's the gleeful destruction of the Berlin Wall.
February 11, 2026 at 4:54 PM
#OpenBorders is "Workers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains" AND it's the gleeful destruction of the Berlin Wall.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
#OpenBorders is the Schengen Area. It's trade and peace, the abolition of war and the forging of friendships out of centuries of war. It's the quiet miracle of undefended borders we take for granted because they're so obvious and normal.
February 11, 2026 at 4:50 PM
#OpenBorders is the Schengen Area. It's trade and peace, the abolition of war and the forging of friendships out of centuries of war. It's the quiet miracle of undefended borders we take for granted because they're so obvious and normal.
I'm very sympathetic to your argument here.
Here's a question that it raises for me, however: Are there some conditions under which we should associate with people who are not admirable, in order to try to push them to do better?
Here's a question that it raises for me, however: Are there some conditions under which we should associate with people who are not admirable, in order to try to push them to do better?
February 10, 2026 at 2:22 AM
I'm very sympathetic to your argument here.
Here's a question that it raises for me, however: Are there some conditions under which we should associate with people who are not admirable, in order to try to push them to do better?
Here's a question that it raises for me, however: Are there some conditions under which we should associate with people who are not admirable, in order to try to push them to do better?
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
As I was saying. www.aaronrosspowell.com/3m2xqaxqypk26
February 9, 2026 at 9:27 PM
As I was saying. www.aaronrosspowell.com/3m2xqaxqypk26
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
The US Administration ordered her to seized off the street by masked agents, imprisoned incognito for weeks, all for thoughtfully expressing an opinion with zero advocacy of violence or harm to anyone.
Sickening, anti-Conservative, anti-constitutional, anti-American.
We are far better than this.
Sickening, anti-Conservative, anti-constitutional, anti-American.
We are far better than this.
An immigration court dropped its case against Turkish graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk, a little less than a year after federal agents arrested her on a street near Tufts University
Immigration Court Drops Case Against Tufts Student Rumeysa Ozturk
The Turkish national had been arrested by plainclothes federal officers outside her apartment.
on.wsj.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:45 AM
The US Administration ordered her to seized off the street by masked agents, imprisoned incognito for weeks, all for thoughtfully expressing an opinion with zero advocacy of violence or harm to anyone.
Sickening, anti-Conservative, anti-constitutional, anti-American.
We are far better than this.
Sickening, anti-Conservative, anti-constitutional, anti-American.
We are far better than this.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
While everyone’s on the topic of libertarians who got in bed with MAGA authoritarianism, here’s what I wrote about it, including the history of how we got here, way back in 2022. The years since have, I believe, made my worries look, if anything, understated. www.aaronrosspowell.com/3m2fgwdmc7c2a
How the Right Distorted Libertarianism - Aaron Ross Powell's Blog
Once rooted in liberalism, libertarianism's detour through the conservative movement has blunted its radical edge and commitment to principle.
www.aaronrosspowell.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:58 PM
While everyone’s on the topic of libertarians who got in bed with MAGA authoritarianism, here’s what I wrote about it, including the history of how we got here, way back in 2022. The years since have, I believe, made my worries look, if anything, understated. www.aaronrosspowell.com/3m2fgwdmc7c2a
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
Since last year, we’ve been reporting on ICE extensively. But every week brings new information, and it’s getting harder to keep track of what’s happening, let alone remember what’s already happened.
So here’s a quick thread to help.
So here’s a quick thread to help.
January 30, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Since last year, we’ve been reporting on ICE extensively. But every week brings new information, and it’s getting harder to keep track of what’s happening, let alone remember what’s already happened.
So here’s a quick thread to help.
So here’s a quick thread to help.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
This is the cycle: Governments give surveillance contracts-->Stock goes up-->Right-wing CEOs get rich and donate to right-wing candidates-->Politicians give more contracts to surveillance company.
This is the cycle we need to break, and it needs to start with ending the government contracts.
This is the cycle we need to break, and it needs to start with ending the government contracts.
Palantir Achieves Another Revenue Record With $1.41 Billion Quarter
The data-analytics company, which has been criticized over its role in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, posted a profit of $609 million.
www.wsj.com
February 4, 2026 at 6:03 PM
This is the cycle: Governments give surveillance contracts-->Stock goes up-->Right-wing CEOs get rich and donate to right-wing candidates-->Politicians give more contracts to surveillance company.
This is the cycle we need to break, and it needs to start with ending the government contracts.
This is the cycle we need to break, and it needs to start with ending the government contracts.
Yes, @ilyasomin.bsky.social has been downright heroic in his work on immigration, his litigation against the Trump administration's abuses of executive power on tariffs, & his efforts to sound the alarm against Trump in libertarian spaces prior to the most recent election.
February 10, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Yes, @ilyasomin.bsky.social has been downright heroic in his work on immigration, his litigation against the Trump administration's abuses of executive power on tariffs, & his efforts to sound the alarm against Trump in libertarian spaces prior to the most recent election.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
"it’s useful to think of borders not as bright, clearly defined lines on maps dividing state territories, but rather closer to a set of nested and interlocking fractal spaces that replicates similar logics through space across multiple scales."
c4ss.org/content/52324
c4ss.org/content/52324
No Citizens: Abolishing Borders Beyond the Nation-State
The very existence of borders is one of the founding injustices of this world. Most of us recognize this implicitly, and I won’t spend too much time here trying to argue what’s been clearly argued by ...
c4ss.org
February 9, 2026 at 10:52 PM
"it’s useful to think of borders not as bright, clearly defined lines on maps dividing state territories, but rather closer to a set of nested and interlocking fractal spaces that replicates similar logics through space across multiple scales."
c4ss.org/content/52324
c4ss.org/content/52324
Yes, agreed. Still a mess, also. But as you say, less of a mess than everyone else. And a mess that's the best hope for freedom, emancipation, self-governance, & egalitarian social relations.
February 10, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Yes, agreed. Still a mess, also. But as you say, less of a mess than everyone else. And a mess that's the best hope for freedom, emancipation, self-governance, & egalitarian social relations.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
Everyone rightfully decries this as utterly bullshit, given how many libertarians -- very much including Reason -- were utterly blind and/or complicit re Trump, but it's also true that liberals ignorantly and studiously built the state power he then seized.
Anarchists are the only ones without sin.
Anarchists are the only ones without sin.
February 10, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Everyone rightfully decries this as utterly bullshit, given how many libertarians -- very much including Reason -- were utterly blind and/or complicit re Trump, but it's also true that liberals ignorantly and studiously built the state power he then seized.
Anarchists are the only ones without sin.
Anarchists are the only ones without sin.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
I think a bigger part of it is what I wrote about here. Fusionism meant that libertarianism recruited primarily from the political right, and the libertarian community was friendly to right-wing beliefs and values in a way it wasn’t to socially and culturally liberal ones. And that just compounded.
How the Right Distorted Libertarianism - Aaron Ross Powell's Blog
Once rooted in liberalism, libertarianism's detour through the conservative movement has blunted its radical edge and commitment to principle.
www.aaronrosspowell.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I think a bigger part of it is what I wrote about here. Fusionism meant that libertarianism recruited primarily from the political right, and the libertarian community was friendly to right-wing beliefs and values in a way it wasn’t to socially and culturally liberal ones. And that just compounded.
I mean, even anarchists have had fascist creep problems, as you & ARR both point out. The anarchist movement has been better at responding to fascist creep than any other social movement. But even there it was messy and flawed.
February 10, 2026 at 1:29 AM
I mean, even anarchists have had fascist creep problems, as you & ARR both point out. The anarchist movement has been better at responding to fascist creep than any other social movement. But even there it was messy and flawed.
Reposted by Nathan Goodman
In which I talk about my intent in selecting a cover design for my book
February 9, 2026 at 7:22 PM
In which I talk about my intent in selecting a cover design for my book
I enjoyed listening to this debate between @jessespafford.bsky.social & Michael Huemer.
I'm closer to Huemer's position on this than Jesse's. But Gillis is in many respects even closer to my position.
Their thread is good, and this @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social essay is good:
c4ss.org/content/53019
I'm closer to Huemer's position on this than Jesse's. But Gillis is in many respects even closer to my position.
Their thread is good, and this @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social essay is good:
c4ss.org/content/53019
February 10, 2026 at 1:20 AM
I enjoyed listening to this debate between @jessespafford.bsky.social & Michael Huemer.
I'm closer to Huemer's position on this than Jesse's. But Gillis is in many respects even closer to my position.
Their thread is good, and this @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social essay is good:
c4ss.org/content/53019
I'm closer to Huemer's position on this than Jesse's. But Gillis is in many respects even closer to my position.
Their thread is good, and this @c4ssdotorg.bsky.social essay is good:
c4ss.org/content/53019