Feb 26/27 – Blog #4
Utilitarianism at its core, is the principle that allows us to create a situation that offers the most benefits for the most amount of people. If, for example there was circumstance wherein which we could choose between 10 or 100 people dying, according to utilitarianism, no matter what, we would choose the option where 10 people die. So, when it comes to consideration upon keeping our international borders open or not, there are several things that we must take into account.
Firstly, open borders, would mean a much larger influx of people moving to different parts of the world. In the past, large masses of people traveling across the world, has been both problematic and beneficial for cultures everywhere. Inevitably, the incorporation of impoverished peoples into developed societies, will in turn decrease poverty rates. Additionally, overall world GDP will see a definite increase because the flow of impoverished people acquiring more jobs and increasing general output.
In the Columbian Exchange for example, the same influx of people caused the migration of multiple diseases, foods, and different vegetation from country to country. Nevertheless, there are many other issues introduced by opening borders. In this article by Bryan Caplan, he builds a case for why it wouldn’t work, specifically due to a clashing of cultures and the disruption of political, social order. The argument being that the mixing of impoverished and uneducated peoples with those who are not that, will decrease technological innovation and see a net increase in total utility. I believe this argument is very weak and does not give a lot of real world evidence to back it up. Although, there are not many benefits of open borders, there a even fewer objections that actually make sense and support the argument correctly.
One of the main ones that most efficiently supports the argument is that it does not account for future generations and their welfare. This piece in particular is significant because it takes into account the possible unforeseen effects of open borders. On top of that, if we come to consider the clashing of cultures between different world populations, it tends to be problematic. Take for example, a world culture that relies on primarily pork and beef for their cuisine, but by this same time, the neighboring country has transitioned into a completely vegetarian lifestyle. This could become an issue when it comes to making informed decisions or trying to agree on something would lead to widespread disagreement, therefore chaotic unrest.
I could be very far out here, but personally I believe that open borders would cause a lot more problems than actual benefits. Cultural differences, mistranslation of currencies, language barriers, the list goes on. It is simple to imagine a world with open borders, but then again the world will never know.
See https://openborders.info/utilitarian/ for more information.
469 words.
Mind of Lucca 