If you were born with a passport that lets you travel without begging a consulate, you’ve already won a global lottery. The free movement of people sounds simple, but it’s one of the most powerful, most taken-for-granted rights in the world.
We just don’t talk about it enough.
Before Borders Got Complicated
There was a time when free movement of people wasn’t some idealist fantasy. You followed food, work, weather, trade. You crossed into new lands, settled down, started over. No biometric scans. No visa fees. No being stuck where you didn’t want to be.
Even 100 years ago, you could board a ship, land in a new country, and make a life there. Now? Even transiting through an airport feels like trying to sneak into a vault.
Who Gets to Move Freely?
Short answer: not many.
If your passport lets you work remotely from Portugal, live in Thailand, and weekend in Italy, you’re in the 1%.
Not financially — geopolitically. Most people can’t move without hurdles. They need sponsors. Bank statements. Perfect paperwork. And they still get rejected.
Free movement of people is not normal. It’s a privilege disguised as a right. And if you have it, you don’t even feel it.
Should the World Have Open Borders?
Maybe not tomorrow. But long-term? Yeah. It’s the logical direction.
The world is aging. Workers are needed. Cultures mix whether we allow it or not. Climate displacement is real. War, poverty, and political collapse aren’t going anywhere.
Free movement of people isn’t chaos. It’s adaptation.
People move for safety. For opportunity. For love. For air they can breathe and jobs they can survive on.
Why are we still treating this like a crime?
Why It’s Still Utopian (For Now)
Borders make governments feel in control.
Migration makes voters panic.
Fear is easier to sell than freedom.
The idea that anyone could go anywhere still feels “radical” — even though capital already moves freely, and data doesn’t need a passport.
If the world can move money across 10 countries in a second, surely it can find a way to let humans move with dignity.
We act like free movement of people is some dangerous idea, when really it’s just… human. We’re wired to move. To roam. To go where life calls us.
It’s not utopia. It’s overdue. And someday — hopefully not far off — it won’t be controversial. It’ll just be normal.
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