Open Borders and the Claims of Community

Abstract

This paper considers seven sets of objections to the idea of open borders, all of them based on concern for the negative effects of free movement on community. I take up the objections under the following headings: 1) Bounded Justice 2) Sovereignty 3) Threats to National Security, Liberal Democratic Values, and Public Order 4) Priority for Compatriots 5) The Welfare State 6) Culture 7) Community Self-Determination and Collective Responsibility.

Keywords: immigration, open borders, global justice. cosmopolitanism