Aliens and citizens: The case for open borders

Abstract

Many poor and oppressed people wish to leave their countries of origin in the third world to come to affluentWestern societies. This essay argues that thereislittlejustificationforkeepingthemout. The essaydrawson threecon- temporaryapproaches to political theory- the Rawlsian, the Nozickean, and the utilitarian-to construct arguments for open borders. The fact that all threetheoriesconvergeupon the same resultson thisissue, despite theirsignifi- cant disagreements on others, strengthensthe case for open borders and re- veals itsrootsin our deep commitmentto respectall human beings as freeand equal moral persons. The final part of the essay considers communitarian ob- jectionstothisconclusion,especiallythoseofMichael Walzer.