Open Borders

Open Borders are borders that enable free movement of people between states and communities. In otherwords, no visas, no bureaucracy, no passports, no queues and no checkpoints.

History

See Also: History of Borders

Although open borders arguably existed for most of human history (for example, migration of forager communities) and borders are an incredibly new development, with no US-Mexican border existing until the 1870s.

The USA can also be seen as an example of open borders, as the borders between states within the USA are unrestricted as one can drive from California to Florida.

The largest and most stable example of open borders from recent history is the Schengen area, developed by the European Union in 1995 and at one point allowing around 420 million people to freely travel from Portugal to Finland, with restrictions being reintroduced from 2015 to 2020, as it more or less collapsed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Debate

Moral Debates

• For: Open borders are morally justified given that nationality or place of birth does not grant more 'worth' to someones life or the right for them to freely travel.

Practical Debates

• For: Open borders would life the wealth of much of the Global South as workers could travel to countries where they are paid significantly more for doing the same work.
• For: Open borders would lead to political reforms in poorer and more oppressive countries to prevent brain drains, which is what happened to Estonia in 2012.
• Against: Open borders will led to lower wages and worse working conditions since they increase the reserve army of labor.
• Against: Open borders could lead to greater destruction of the environment given that it allows for more people to live middle-class lifestyles.
• Against: Open borders can erode cultures and feelings of national sovereignty, which is a bad thing as it decreases trust in a society.