Borderless World: Is it practically possible?

Borderless World: Is it practically possible?

“Imagine for a moment a world without borders. A world where visas and passports are no longer necessary and we would be free to travel and work anywhere and everywhere we wanted. Is this a dream worth fighting for? Is this a world worth sacrificing for?”

Matthew Laine

In a time of globalisation and liberalisation, many experts hold that we live in a flat world where there is no longer place for the sovereign right of national non-interference. But are we ready to live in a borderless world? Is it even possible? Questions of economic needs, political divides and the role of nation states come into play. So, without further ado, let us examine if the world is indeed a global village?

Yes

1. Globalisation makes a borderless world possible

The world is flat, wrote Thomas Friedman in 2001. So, we get oil from the Middle East, chocolate from Switzerland and fly to Japan for a Christmas vacation. Diamonds from Africa and chia seeds from Latin America, cheap electronic gadgets form China and cotton from India are just some of the reasons free trade rules and the world is now borderless.

2. Elephant Curve Shows Borderless World Beneficial

Statistically, globalisation benefits economies and produces growth, according to the economists who have charted the “elephant curve” showing the same. Reconciling social rights with benefits becomes an easy matter as nationality prevails across the world, with world bodies like WHO and the UN emphasising the need for global citizenship.

3. Network democracy prevails

A political system which is flat like the world we live in will eliminate national borders and facilitate social cohesion. For example, experts hold that post Brexit strategies should revolve around a continental partnership in Europe where the external circle is the single market and the inner circle a political union.

4. A Way to Perpetual Peace

A global union of citizens was envisaged by philosopher Immanuel Kant in the 1790s as the way to promote peace. A borderless world will reduce inequality and take humans to a higher level of peace and prosperity. Border wars between countries are lessening and the world is gradually moving towards a union of wellness of human species. Resources will also be utilised better as a result.

No

1. Entry restrictions needed

Entry restrictions are created by states to defend the privileges of their citizens. If they remove the border for poor countries, the entire population of decimated economies will head to the developed world and destroy its limited infrastructure meant for its citizens.

2. Question of social support

Another issue is the social programmes and pension schemes as well as social security schemes run by states like US and Australia. If someone from another nation were to come here, the pension programmes and government aid would not be sufficient to tackle the growing population.

3. If borders are removed, population density would be skewed

If we aim for a borderless world, the population density would rise in developed regions where the infrastructure has been built for a lesser population. This will impact the availability of food and other amenities. As the US occupies 25 percent of the global economy, a borderless world implies imports and exports make up 75% of the global economy. This would entail total trade levels of 150 percent of GDP. Our real total trade levels are 29%, with imports pegged at 17 and exports at 12 percent. This means the economy is nowhere near a borderless state and can never be.

Concluding Thoughts

A truly borderless world necessitates social, economic and political changes. A truly unified world economy means the rates of interest and profits would be the same everywhere, because differences are arbitraged by financial markets. This is not really the case, with interest rates and corporate profits varying across nations in the world. Another problem is that of logistics and protectionism. Can developed nations handle the inflow of migrants and refugees a borderless world would bring? The harder questions have no easy answers, and unless these are tackled, a borderless world remains a distant dream, not a practical possibility.