European Union and its Member Nations Collaborate on Matters of Intrinsic Importance
Revised Article:
Hey there! Let's dive into this topic on open borders and freedom of movement—a concept that's been around since the '80s, thanks to social movements challenging restrictive migration policies.**
Author Fabian Georgi, a political scientist, found these ideas compelling when he encountered them at the dawn of the 2000s, during globalization-critical protests and anti-racist "border camps." He wondered how such a world could work and delved deeper to find answers.
The surge of scientific engagement with open borders in the mid-2010s, during the "short summer of migration," led to more questions. Georgi believed that many texts missed the mark by not addressing the political economy of migration and borders or their entanglement with capitalist contradictions and crises.
So, Georgi wrote "Borders and Freedom of Movement: A Critical Introduction" to strengthen critically-materialist and political-economic perspectives in the open borders debate. His book emphasizes the importance of understanding the role of citizenship and nationality in this issue, as they often mistakenly reflect these concepts within the capitalist framework, failing to grasp the root causes of today's border repression and the conditions for emancipatory freedom of movement.
Now, what about the left and left-liberal positions on this topic? How can abolitionist strategies evolve? Well, Georgi's book takes aim at those who've long opposed the perspective of freedom of movement and critiques "radically left-liberal" advocates who argue for open borders without carefully considering their implications within the current capitalist structure.
Many texts fail to see how the current form of border repression is a direct result of dynamics in the present capitalist formation. Without repressive border regimes, the prevailing imperial mode of life and reproduction would collapse under its own contradictions. Without the racist and material hierarchies and divisions produced by border regimes, those capitalist factions in the Global North could not maintain their dominance.
In other words, Georgi argues that an emancipatory form of freedom of movement cannot be realized within the present authoritarian-neoliberal formation. Therefore, the demand for open borders should be linked offensively with perspectives on social-ecological transformation.
But is Marx still a suitable reference point for this analysis? Absolutely! Georgi's book demonstrates the insights and contributions of Marxian approaches to critical political economy and materialist state theory in understanding today's border regimes and the politics of freedom of movement. By examining the neoliberal handling of the crisis of Fordism in the 1970s, Georgi shows how the dynamics of border repression started precisely in the 1980s.
So, is favoring freedom of movement a critique of capitalism? You bet! The book reveals that an emancipatory form of freedom of movement cannot be achieved within the existing capitalist structure, given its multiple crises. Embracing a politics of freedom of movement, therefore, necessitates a connection to perspectives on social-ecological transformation.
But hold on, isn't freedom of movement a utopia? Not if we adopt the term "concrete utopia," as defined by Ernst Bloch, which refers to alternatives that correspond to the material tendencies of a particular historical situation. Georgi attempts to show in the book that open borders can indeed be considered a concrete utopia in this sense, as the world system is currently interconnected like never before.
Finally, who are the subjects of freedom of movement? Initially, they are the movements and struggles of migration itself, from stubborn practices of migrating and crossing borders to longer-term struggles for staying and social participation. The book aims to inspire and empower those—from activists to everyday people—who fight for the rights of migrants, refugees, and others, giving them a sense that they are working towards a necessarily long-term policy of freedom of movement.
Education and self-development should involve exploring the concepts of open borders and freedom of movement, as depicted by Fabian Georgi in his book "Borders and Freedom of Movement: A Critical Introduction." Personal growth can be fostered by understanding the political economy of migration and borders, and the role they play in capitalist contradictions and crises. Career development may benefit from examining the implications of open borders within the current capitalist structure. Policy and legislation related to immigration and border control can be informed by critically-materialist and political-economic perspectives, as outlined in Georgi's book. General news coverage of immigration issues can be enhanced by incorporating these insights, providing a more nuanced understanding of the root causes of border repression and the conditions for emancipatory freedom of movement. Learning and skills training in the fields of political science, critical political economy, and materialist state theory can be enriched by studying Georgi's work, which demonstrates the relevance of Marxian approaches to these subjects.
