PHILOS 2G03 Lecture 16: Carens The Case of Open Borders
13 Jun 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Open%Borders
-Can%closed%borders%be%justified?
-If%so,%on%what%basis?
Carens'%Thesis
-Stated%positively:%Borders%should%normally%be%open,%and%people%should%be%free%to%
settle%in%another%country
-Stated%negatively:%there%is%little%justification%for%restricting%immigration,%or%
maintaining%closed%borders
-Carens%argues%that%the%open%borders%thesis%follows%from%basic%and%widely%shared%
premises%about%justice%and%about%human%nature
-Given%basic%premises%about%justice%considered%by%Carnes,%completely%closed%borders%
would%conflict%with%justice,%and%even%the%status%quo%of%partially%restricted%borders%is%
difficult%to%justify
Basic%Rights
-All%individuals%have%the%same%(equal)%basic%rights:
Libertarian:%rights%to%property%are%natural%rights
•
Rawls:%we%must%treat%all%human%beings%as%free%and%equal%moral%persons
•
Utilitarian:%everyone%is%to%count%for%one,%and%only%one,%when%utility%is%calculated
•
-While%some%arguments%or%justifications%for%limiting%migration%succeed%on%these%
models,%the%status%quo%(of%generally%restricted%migration)%seemingly%cannot%be%
justified
Carens'%Argument
Carens:(The(Case(of(Open(Borders
Thursday,%June%13,%2019
3:30%PM
