Today, some politicians and influencers do their best to make everyone believe that the Western world is suffering from the immigrant crisis. According to them, illegal immigration, as well as immigration per se, cause great harm to Europe and North America by damaging their economies and eroding the values that have ensured this region’s political and economic dominant position. Everybody seems to be concerned with protecting borders, and the current events in the U.S. show that this concern looks almost paranoid. Nevertheless, there is plenty of ethical, political, and economic arguments against national boundaries. If countries abolished national borders and enabled people to migrate freely, it would make our world a more just, tolerant, and prosperous place.
Elimination of national boundaries would solve the most pressing problem of the global society, which is inequality. Climate change, military conflicts, poor economic opportunities, and lack of resources contribute to the very low quality of life in some regions, while the West continues becoming more prosperous. People who were unlucky to be born in certain regions of our planet have very little chances to live safe, happy, and prosperous lives because of the circumstances beyond their control. The West prefers to explain all their problems by calling them lazy, failing to realize that it is impossible to build economic and political success on nothing. Bryan Caplan explains people’s desire to immigrate to get better jobs by reminding the audience that no one would be productive if they lived in Syria or Haiti. Therefore, it would be morally right to provide everyone with similar opportunities to succeed. Regarding the increasing globalization of information and markets, it would be strange to oppose free migration.
Apart from the moral aspect of this issue, eliminating borders would have positive economic outcomes for the global community. As all the supporters of free migration note, people relocate not to beg but to work. In a favorable economic and political climate, they can fulfill their potential, producing more goods and offering more services. Both Caplan and Tabarrok cite the economic study that has found that global GDP would double if people could migrate and work without obstacles. That would help to end the economic inequality between the West and the rest of the world. Transnational corporations would not be able to exploit factory workers of the third world because they would have other options other than working almost for free in inhumane conditions. Also, it would improve the overall quality of life on our planet by making goods and services more accessible and increasing people’s wealth. It is hard to imagine an economic reform or policy that would have similar positive outcomes. Unfortunately, the most influential players in the global community tend to call for solutions that would improve only their position, ignoring the needs of all other regions.
Finally, abolishing national boundaries would help to deal with xenophobia and intolerance as well as and make people feel more united. If borders did not matter, we would be exposed to other cultures and ethnicities, getting used to them after some time. I think that this would result in a melting pot effect, creating a new global culture that would incorporate elements from local cultures. Something like that has already happened in the U.S. where immigrants from various parts of the world have contributed to the emergence of the unique American customs and traditions. This would make our world a much more tolerant and safe place to live. Today, a lot of conflicts occur because of ideological differences and xenophobia. If the world became less polarized and intolerant to the pluralism of customs and opinions, it would decrease the risk of the World War III. Instead of wasting time and resources on the geopolitical rivalry, people could focus on something more important, such as exploration of our planet and development of advanced ways of generating energy.
Overall, eliminating borders would be beneficial for the global community because it would make people more equal and prosperous, and the whole world would become safer. The practice of outsourcing production and exploiting workers of the third world would come to its end, and people would have more opportunities to improve their quality of life. This would increase their productivity and have positive economic outcomes for the whole planet. Also, it would help to make people more tolerant of those from different cultural backgrounds. Due to total globalization, cultures will merge, creating a united community that will not have to struggle with wars and conflicts.
- Caplan, Bryan. “The Case for Open Borders.” Time, 7 Oct. 2015, time.com/4062074/migrants-open-borders/. Accessed 17 Jul. 2018.
- Tabarrok, Alex. “The Case for Getting Rid of Borders—Completely.” The Atlantic, 10 Oct. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/10/get-rid-borders-completely/409501/. Accessed 17 Jul. 2018.
