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Paulina Ochoa Espejo, Strangers in Our Midst: The Political Philosophy of Immigration. By David Miller, Migration Studies, Volume 5, Issue 3, November 2017, Pages 465–469, https://doi.org/10.1093/migration/mnw033
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Extract
In this timely book, David Miller argues for the right of states to restrict immigration or to ‘close borders’: a controversial thesis among political philosophers. Of course, states already exercise the right to restrict immigration, but it is political philosophy’s job to determine whether they ought to have it. In the last few decades, many political philosophers have argued that they ought not. States should be much more open to migrants than they currently are, these philosophers claim, or else they violate the universal principles of equality and avoiding unjustified coercion. Yet, in the very same period, the position Miller defends has become more and more popular among non-academics. As the victory of the Leave campaign in the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump remind us, a high percentage of voters in rich democracies want more border control. They believe that immigrants are neither an economic boon, nor a humanitarian duty; instead, they are an unjustified burden, which their countries have a right to avoid. Unlike many other liberal philosophers, Miller claims to take a ‘realist’ approach to these issues. He considers the effect that these popular beliefs have on politics. Yet, what exactly is this ‘realism,’ and what is its role in political morality? In the rest of this review, I will briefly summarize Miller’s main arguments, and then I will return to this question.
