Who gets to be part of a political community? More generally how should membership in a political community be determined? I would like to start by looking at this debate in theoretical terms and then, in a follow up post, consider how this debate is taking place today. Joseph Carens (1987) is an advocate for open borders, based on the idea that liberal ideas are universal in scope and limit government authority (of any territorial state) to keep people from being able to move around the earth as they choose. Michael Walzer (1983) develops a communitarian critique of liberalism, which insists on the primacy of community over individual rights and hence the right of communities to determine membership policy in whatever way they like. These arguments are rehearsed below. Walzer, “The Distribution of Membership” Walzer focuses on a fundamental question of rights. Not which rights ...
This is a blog about Mexican politics meant to inform public understanding of Mexico and Mexican politics.