This thread was born directly out of the patriotism thread. On one hand, I claimed that I love my country with a little more intimacy than I love others. The question brought to me by Pret's response above mine was... why? Are we still such tribal beings that I can relate to 300m+ people, but not others, just because my people all live under the same political system inside totally arbitrary geographical confines? To a point, I do feel it is better overall to connect on a world scale rather than a national one. The same needs and fears can be seen in every longitude. The same blood courses through all of us. But at the same time, people are SO different. One culture may embrace something another sees as an abomination. We see it on here, even though we're pretty much all English-speaking westerners: Americans more or less tolerate gun ownership or even see it as a basic human right, whereas Europe has scorned it as unnecessary and inviting violence. I'm inclined to believe that in certain circumstances, both sides are right. It depends on your values as a culture. That (along with idiotic political garbage that will not be helped by discussion) is part of the reason why such separation is necessary. It need not be exclusive; the mixing of thoughts and methods is what enriches us. And while we can't be constrained by these lines, it is a bit premature to say we can abolish them all and just be citizens of Earth. What do you guys think?
I think the less borders the better, but I would agree that right now they are necessary. One day though I think we will have one global culture and a united hamanity.
There are many reasons: different cultures, lack of infrastructure, lack of economic stability, different views on topics (such as LGBT rights), different political systems (communism/capitalism) etc An increased number of people are now more globally connected and will be more connected through the internet, but the suggestion is not particularly well thought out.
Borders cause problems. Borders cause nationalism and general nastiness IMO...all they do is separate us. We are one humanity or at least we should be. Disparity IMO is the worst crime
Just take a look at the EU's effort to 'take borders down'. It already abolished economic barriers, single market - no fees - common currency everyone happy, bam! Germany controlling smaller countries' monetary policy, cuts on education, minimum wage - unemployment, hunger - everyone hates the EU. Eu tries to take down political borders, you can move freely, using only ID, reside and have a family in any country you like, everyone happy, bam! eastern Europe countries join, political parties complaining that legal immigrants from there steal people's jobs, media says the same stuff - everyone hates the EU. I think politicians and generally 'the system' works better with these barriers on, and takes advantage of any effort to take them down in a negative way. So even if you and I don't mind living together in peace, our politicians would do anything to steal, to control, to spread hate. I do sound like an anarchist but this is what's been happening in world history for ages, no matter if a country is under communism or capitalism or whatever system, I'm sorry if I offended anyone.
Borders in general are the result of people being unable to share their living space with others. National borders are basically a way to tell where a certain bunch of laws are enforceable. If the world had common laws, or at least a common framework of laws, borders as are known today would lose a lot of their meaning.
My friends and I actually discussed what would happen if the world tried to move under one worldwide community, no countries, just one absolutely massive state. We kind of came to the conclusion that a) we would just end up with smaller administrative groups that ruled over large areas which would be, by default, just new countries, and b) the world would explode in war. Pretty grim, but kind of reaffirms my "borders cause a lot of problems but generally help" view. I'd like either change the idea of borders, or go all anarchist and get free-reign with no borders. However, that last option seems only to work on the basis that everyone trusts each other, and thus wont work. If we took down borders, we'd be eliminating a form of control which just wont work. People dont view each other as equal enough to live side by side, someone has to have power, someone has to have control. (huh, never thought of myself as a cynicist but eh..)
I honestly do not respect borders, and hate associating with things that don't really exist. Patriotism is alright, appreaciating your country is alright, but I think it's stupid to lay claim to that plot of land, to that border. The border doesn't exist, it's not real, it's only real to us because we have faith that it is. If everyone stopped believing in borders they'd disappear. Again we need borders right now because of economic disparity in countries, which would become vacant if there were no borders. I do however think the world should work towards a more free flowing society, and inter-connecting, and shy away from all this country bullshit. One of the main reasons why I can't get into supporting teams from Toronto is because players on that team don't have anything to do with me, they are just representing a fictional geographical area that is non-existent without human faith in it. The only way borders can disappear is if racism disappears, and economic imbalances are fixed. .... Borders are also a relatively new think, before maybe the past couple hundred years, most borders were just for cities that were walled, people were pretty much free to roam wherever they wish. I also live in a huge country so I don't feel that confined, I could spend a lifetime travelling this country and still not see half of it.
