On the institution of citizenship

Why do the wealthy prohibit those from poorer states to enter their economies?

The challenges of a global economy present us with an opportunity to redesign civil institutions that got us here.

Taking a gap year to travel is a common activity for high school graduates from countries associated with the Global North and the Western World. Travel exposes them to cultures and knowledge of the world. This is a fundamental advantage with lifelong compounding effects, an advantage over those from the Third World and developing countries.

Historically and to this day, we saw financial inequality as the key driver of this phenomena. But the financial system has not failed us. Indeed, the low-cost airline tickets, that unlocked our youth to exchange ideas globally, were achieved because of the global financial system, not despite it.

What instead has prohibited those from the Global South to be exposed to cultures around the world is the inequality of citizenship rights, specifically inequality of rights granted to different passport holders.

These rights allow a US citizen to travel freely to Greece, Uganda or Japan. The same institution grants Russian citizens free access to South Korea, South Africa or Chile.

And the same institution of citizenship prohibits free travel to most countries for citizens of Ethiopia, Vietnam and the Palestinian territories.

As the woke movement pursues equity, the need for diversity and originality of thought is huge. With just distribution of knowledge in mind, how does one justify national borders and existing freedom of passage rights?