The Caplan Criterion

Bryan Caplan recently tweeted:

.@MarkSKrikorian Good rule of thumb: If you think it's wrong to punish natives for X, I I think it's wrong to punish humans for X.

The converse might be worth applying. If it is legitimate to temporarily close off houses in response to an epidemic, it is legitimate to temporarily close off borders in response to an epidemic.

It might make sense to put a time limit on any border closings. The traditional time limit was forty days (the origin of the term “quarantine”).