So Borders should not be open to EVERYONE. like some people could be dangerous, Maybe we could make the process faster for the people But if we open the borders to everyone it could be unfair for the people that signed in correctly.
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So Borders should not be open to EVERYONE. like some people could be dangerous, Maybe we could make the process faster for the people But if we open the borders to everyone it could be unfair for the people that signed in correctly.
The right to move is already recognized for goods, capital, and data. Restricting it for people but not the products they make or the money they earn is an arbitrary asymmetry that protects incumbent workers in wealthy countries at the expense of the global poor who are blocked from reaching better opportunities.
Every moral intuition that condemns discrimination by race, religion, or gender should also condemn discrimination by birthplace. The passport lottery is the most consequential determinant of life outcomes and the least morally defensible. Citizenship by birth is as arbitrary as aristocracy.
Low-wage workers in destination countries bear the largest costs of immigration-driven wage competition while elites who benefit from cheaper labor bear none. Open borders is a regressive policy that wealthier, more mobile advocates promote at the expense of those with the least bargaining power.
Economists across the ideological spectrum estimate open borders would roughly double world GDP by allowing labor to flow to its highest-value use. It is the most efficient anti-poverty intervention imaginable — larger than any foreign aid program, any trade deal, and most domestic welfare policies combined.
Rapid demographic change — even when economically beneficial — strains housing, public services, and social trust faster than democratic institutions can manage. The populist backlash against immigration that has fueled authoritarianism across the West is evidence of what happens when pace exceeds absorption capacity. The speed of change matters, not just the direction.
The welfare state requires bounded solidarity: generous social programs exist because citizens are willing to fund people they feel connected to. Open borders dissolves the political constituency for redistribution and will accelerate stripping back welfare states to remain fiscally viable. You can have open borders or a generous welfare state; the evidence suggests you cannot have both.