Dialogues on Immigration and the Open Society

After some friendly pestering from six of his students curious about his thinking about immigration, a philosophy professor invites them to present their own ideas to him over a series of meetings throughout the term. This book is about their conversations.

These dialogues introduce the reader to the most important ethical and political questions about immigration. They begin by considering the claim that significant levels of immigration pose a threat to the very civilization of the West, where the immigration issue is a particularly vexed one. The chapters that follow consider the economics of immigration, whether or not the state is justified in its efforts-or even obliged-to control immigration, and whether everyone has a right to move or if only refugees can make so strong a claim. The final chapter considers the implications of a philosophy of immigration on the ideal of an open society. Throughout the book, there is a strong emphasis on addressing the conceptual questions that are vital for making any headway in understanding practical issues. What is a refugee? What are rights? What is an open society? Indeed, what is immigration?

Key Features:

• Written as a friendly engagement between six thoughtful but skeptical students who hold a variety of views, and a philosophy professor, who insists he's just trying to work out the answers with their help rather than convince them of one right answer;
• Engages with the immigration debates in philosophy, economics and politics, without presupposing any specialist knowledge;
• Includes discussion of the historical and institutional aspects of immigration, so the conversation is never simply about abstract or hypothetical cases;
• Concludes with a substantive theory about how to think about immigration and the free society to prompt further reflection.