April 19, 2014

As Libertarians we hold that governments should never infringe on the rights of the individual, and should governments exist their only power should be the protection of the rights of the individual. The cornerstone of Libertarianism is self ownership, that is, each individual is his or her own person and they make their own decisions without interference from others.
So, how does this tie into borders? Well, borders are nothing more than imaginary lines drawn on maps by governments, they limit the free movement of individuals. Borders emerge when one government’s claim to territory crashes headlong into another government’s claim to territory and a stalemate is reached. Once this stalemate is reached and a static border emerges the individuals that government claims are its citizens are then prohibited from freely crossing this imaginary line. Sure, some governments may allow its so-called citizens to cross these imaginary lines relatively more freely than other governments, but this does not negate the fact that as individuals with free will, we all have equal opportunity to claim ownership to any unclaimed land no matter what side of this imaginary line we happened to be born on. As individuals with free will, we all have the right to contract with any other individual no matter what side of this imaginary line we happen to be born on. As individuals with free will, we have the right to trade with other individuals no matter what side of the imaginary line we happen to be born on.
Migration is a natural right based on self ownership, as we individuals are not owned by the government, so we should be able to freely move from place to place without these restrictions that the state imposes on us. We should be sovereign over our lives, not the property of the state. Having the borders closed, or even any restriction on the free movement of people means that the government at least partially owns the people. This goes against the core principle that libertarianism rests on, self-ownership.

By: James Weeks