Should The World Get Rid of Borders?



Often a topic in theoretic debates, the concept of borders and what separates humanity is always contentious. But, fear not! This post is meant to provide a bit of background on the subject and give you additional resources so you can tackle any debate thrown at you! This post will focus on the benefits of an open-border world.

Background:
  • Why should me be confined to the nation state of their birth with armed guards and dangerous borders? The world is divided unequally. Economic prosperity, natural resources, investment, and closed borders on exacerbate these differences. 
  • Wage differences highlight disparities and border discrimination. If an individual migrated from a poorer country to a wealthier one, that migrant may see a double, triple, or higher increase in wages. Many experts posit that a world without wage discrimination through legislation and open borders could double the world's GDP. 
  • The benefits of cross-border migration are incredible for migrants, they also transition to the destination countries. Immigration increases workers in the workforce. 
  • It forces real wages to increase. 
  • New immigrants posses skills that differ from citizens and bolster market openings.

"Only 3% of the world's population lives outside their country of birth--we are forcing individuals to stay stagnant and that provides the greater impediments to economic growth.
Aside from pragmatic arguments, this excerpt from the Economist (referenced below) outlines a fascinating moral argument in favor of open borders "The second argument for open borders is a moral one. Where someone is born is entirely a matter of chance, so there is no moral justification for compelling people to stay in a poor country. By the same token, those lucky enough to have been born in rich countries have no right to exclude others from their good fortune. Opponents of open borders are not convinced by either of those arguments. Even if the world as a whole were to grow richer thanks to open borders, they say, poorer people in the migrants’ destination countries would suffer. The new arrivals would depress their wages and compete with them for resources such as social housing and unemployment benefits. The welfare states that Western democracies have painstakingly built over the past few decades would collapse under the task of absorbing millions of people ill-suited to local labour markets. Cultural conflicts between natives and immigrants would before long cause violent clashes, threatening social stability."



Additional Resources: 



Debate Motions: 

This House regrets a world of nation states.

This House supports an open-border policy. 

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