Ask HN: What would the world be without border control?
Longshot, but assuming there's no terrorism and people blowing up stuff, how would the world get affected if movement of people across borders was completely unrestricted. You can just take a flight, and go anywhere you wish.
What would happen to economies, a state of life of a common citizen for example in India or the US. How would trade get affected? Would Americans have a better/cheaper healthcare?
I understand that the geographical 'walls' are built for a reason, but what would happen if they didn't exist. Some will complain, and the others will be happy, what would the net effect?
Any books/pointers to understand this would be helpful.
2 comments
[ 16.7 ms ] story [ 221 ms ] threadUnrestricted border control is basically giving up nationhood, and that's not done lightly.
Imagine if a regiment of armed Russians decided to "travel" into, say, Poland for a "holiday jaunt". That's unacceptable. Similarly, having lots of Americans deciding to move into Canada would be violating their sovereignty.
It's really weird that this is something a lot of folks these days have trouble with.
> A rapid expansion of railway infrastructure and wealth in Europe beginning in the mid-nineteenth century led to large increases in the volume of international travel and a consequent unique dilution of the passport system for approximately thirty years prior to World War I. The speed of trains, as well as the number of passengers that crossed multiple borders, made enforcement of passport laws difficult. The general reaction was the relaxation of passport requirements.[10] In the later part of the nineteenth century and up to World War I, passports were not required, on the whole, for travel within Europe, and crossing a border was a relatively straightforward procedure. Consequently, comparatively few people held passports.
> During World War I, European governments introduced border passport requirements for security reasons, and to control the emigration of people with useful skills. These controls remained in place after the war, becoming a standard, though controversial, procedure. British tourists of the 1920s complained, especially about attached photographs and physical descriptions, which they considered led to a "nasty dehumanization".
For what it's worth, "Uniquely, the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard is an entirely visa-free zone. Everybody may live and work in Svalbard indefinitely regardless of country of citizenship. The Svalbard Treaty grants treaty nationals equal right of abode as Norwegian nationals. Non-treaty nationals may live and work indefinitely visa-free as well." ... ""In the past, immigrants who have been refused a visa for mainland Norway have moved to Longyearbyen, lived there for seven years and been awarded Norwegian citizenship."" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_policy_of_Svalbard