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
- Against: Open borders will led to lower wages and worse working conditions