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Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

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Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#31

Post by anovikov »

But this is precisely the point of nationhood at all. Otherwise, what is the meaning of one's nationality? This is opportunity which gives you an unfair advantage vs less fortunate nations, which your forefathers created and defended for you and you can enjoy - and defend for your posterity.

It is like capital: you can be born into money and enjoy the unfair advantage of never having to work 9-5. Just collective, shared by everyone with the same citizenship. Do we need to abolish private capital too?

I come from Soviet Union where we tried to do just that. Result was the worst passport to have, truly :) to the point that the border defences were pointed inwards - to prevent escape rather than infiltration.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#32

Post by Majestic121 »

mcv wrote: post #29
hypertele-Xii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd personally love to live in a world where passports don't exist and people are free to travel to any country they want to. The European Union exists. It's pretty cool. Go anywhere, no password required.

I think you still need to have a passport, it just won't be checked by anyone. Unless you get arrested, probably.

If you're a EU citizen, all you need is a valid ID, which you are required to have on you even in your own country anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#33

Post by [deleted] »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #16

From an ethical / fairness perspective, I think that the idea that someone should be prevented from visiting or settling in my country by virtue of their birth situation is utterly ridiculous, abhorrent, and awful. From a logistical perspective, I think that if my country accepted anyone from anywhere around the world, I think that the lovely little picket-fence green England I live in would turn into an absolute hel…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#34

Post by tjansen »

mcv wrote: post #29
hypertele-Xii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd personally love to live in a world where passports don't exist and people are free to travel to any country they want to. The European Union exists. It's pretty cool. Go anywhere, no password required.

I think you still need to have a passport, it just won't be checked by anyone. Unless you get arrested, probably.

No, but you need an identity card (which looks pretty much like a drivers license). Unlike passports, every citizen has one.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#35

Post by loudmax »

yosito wrote: post #14

As a nomad, and someone who's traveled to 40 countries and speaks 3 languages, I'd personally love to live in a world where passports don't exist and people are free to travel to any country they want to. I think trying to make all passports equal is the wrong solution. Passports are issued by the authority of a country, and not all countries have equal authority on the world stage. UN issued passports might be a pos…

> The truth is, the world is not an equal place. Never has been, and never will be.

I agree with just about everything you said, and the world will probably never be an "equal" place, whatever that means. But I don't want to concede that the world will never be a fair place. Anyone should be able to travel the planet, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Obviously this isn't possible today due to existing political infrastructure, but it's something we should strive for. We shouldn't give up on ideals of justice just because they're hard to reach.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#36

Post by TheGigaChad »

soueuls wrote: post #13
stransky wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quoted post unavailable.

HN is supposed to be a place for civilized discussions. I am not allowed to go anywhere I want. There are plenty of countries refusing me entry, or access to land/property or force me to abide by strict business rule (like having a national owning > 51% of any company I might create there) this is fine. It's not my country. Plus, your "equality" is going to create other form of inequality. Any socialist countries rel…

No post body was provided.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#37

Post by jonp888 »

mcv wrote: post #29
hypertele-Xii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd personally love to live in a world where passports don't exist and people are free to travel to any country they want to. The European Union exists. It's pretty cool. Go anywhere, no password required.

I think you still need to have a passport, it just won't be checked by anyone. Unless you get arrested, probably.

No, you only need an national identity card, which most countries issue to everyone anyway.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#38

Post by Fnoord »

mcv wrote: post #29
hypertele-Xii wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'd personally love to live in a world where passports don't exist and people are free to travel to any country they want to. The European Union exists. It's pretty cool. Go anywhere, no password required.

I think you still need to have a passport, it just won't be checked by anyone. Unless you get arrested, probably.

Yes, despite certain efforts like YubiCo's and Microsoft's, passwords are still required. For example, on DigiD (Dutch online authentication service), you need a PIN of 5 numbers plus 2FA/MFA (SMS).

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#39

Post by mcv »

soueuls wrote: post #5
Broken_Hippo wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I decide who I want to welcome in my home. I believe Thailand, Russia, Brazil, Germany are completely free to do the same and fix their own rules. But you don't. Take the US, for example. Everyone born there is a citizen. Everyone born to an American parent is a citizen (or can be). None of the folks get a choice in where they were born, or what nationality they get. And you have all sorts of folks - people that will…

But you are surrounded by people whose parents contributed to your economy, who were more or less raised with at least a decent amount of shared values. People don't just come to a new country and just abandon their past. They bring their values, ideals, beliefs, problems and solutions. As the number of foreign people coming, cosmopolitanism increase. Then you quickly reach a point where you can eat a raclette anywhe…

> Then you quickly reach a point where you can eat a raclette anywhere, soccer is the most famous sports, Hollywood is the main entity broadcasting entertainment. There is no point in traveling, because every place more or less lost their spirit.

Less traveling would probably be good for the world, but it's not true that places "lose their spirit" just because they've got football, Hollywood movies and raclette everywhere. They already have that everywhere, and almost everywhere is still interesting and unique. Just more accessible, leading to more travel.

Cultural exchange is useful and valuable. What's a problem is when desperate people have no buy-in into the society. That leads to alienation, which can lead to all sorts of problems. But this can also happen to people whose parents, and possibly distant ancestors, already lived there.

Re: Ask HN: Does the world need a “passport equality” movement?

#40

Post by snowgrove »

throwaway22032 wrote: post #16

From an ethical / fairness perspective, I think that the idea that someone should be prevented from visiting or settling in my country by virtue of their birth situation is utterly ridiculous, abhorrent, and awful. From a logistical perspective, I think that if my country accepted anyone from anywhere around the world, I think that the lovely little picket-fence green England I live in would turn into an absolute hel…

No post body was provided.
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