No One Is Illegal (Only) in the Kingdom of Ends: Migration and the Double Legacy of Kant’s Political Philosophy
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Tamara Caraus
Tamara Caraus is Principal Investigator at the Centre of Philosophy, University of Lisbon, Portugal, within the framework of the Stimulus of Scientific Employment—Individual Support Grant of the Portuguese Agency for Science, Research and Technology. Previously, she has conducted research projects in political philosophy at, among others, New Europe College, Vienna Institut für die Wissenschaften vom Menschen, Polish Academy of Science, University of Bucharest, Oxford University, University of Uppsala, University of Olomouc, University of Groningen, University of Rijeka, and other institutions. Besides various academic articles, she is the author of six books and the co-editor of five volumes. Her latest publication isMilitant Cosmopolitics: Another World Horizon (2022) and her current research focuses on continental political philosophy, Marx, and Critical Theory.
Abstract
This chapter explores Kantian philosophy’s dual-aspect legacy in thinking about migration. One aspect, embraced by contemporary political philosophy, reinforces the nation-state and its borders, viewing migration from within Western state frameworks. The other, expressed in migrant and refugee manifestos like No Border, No One Is Illegal, and The Charter of Lampedusa, calls for a world without borders. While political philosophy engages with Kant to uphold state boundaries, statements like “No One Is Illegal” and “We all inhabit the planet Earth as a shared space” echo Kant’s moral principles and his idea of common possession of the Earth. The chapter argues that, confronted with the problem of migration, political philosophy must start anew with only two building blocks: the human being and the world as a whole. To accomplish this task, contemporary political philosophy has simultaneously to turn to the migrant perspective and go back to Kant, sometimes arguing with Kant against Kant.
Abstract
This chapter explores Kantian philosophy’s dual-aspect legacy in thinking about migration. One aspect, embraced by contemporary political philosophy, reinforces the nation-state and its borders, viewing migration from within Western state frameworks. The other, expressed in migrant and refugee manifestos like No Border, No One Is Illegal, and The Charter of Lampedusa, calls for a world without borders. While political philosophy engages with Kant to uphold state boundaries, statements like “No One Is Illegal” and “We all inhabit the planet Earth as a shared space” echo Kant’s moral principles and his idea of common possession of the Earth. The chapter argues that, confronted with the problem of migration, political philosophy must start anew with only two building blocks: the human being and the world as a whole. To accomplish this task, contemporary political philosophy has simultaneously to turn to the migrant perspective and go back to Kant, sometimes arguing with Kant against Kant.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction 1
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Part I Normative Accounts of Kant’s Cosmopolitan Order
- Borders, Cosmopolitan Sovereignty, and Global Mobility. A Kantian Account of Political Interdependence 7
- Cosmopolitanism and Political Realism: Kant’s Double Legacy and Contemporary Political Challenge 27
- Is Humanity (Morally) Progressing? Kant’s Philosophy of History under a Cosmopolitan Perspective 43
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Part II Kant’s Cosmopolitanism: Between Past and Future
- The Rights of Foreigners. Grotius, Pufendorf, and Kant 71
- Kant’s Cosmopolitan Philosophy in the Face of the Challenges of Migration 89
- No One Is Illegal (Only) in the Kingdom of Ends: Migration and the Double Legacy of Kant’s Political Philosophy 113
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Part III Contemporary Migration Under the Lens of Kant’s Cosmopolitan Right
- The Right to Dwell (Anywhere) on Earth and the Promise of Human Community 137
- Kant, Migration, and the Cosmopolitan Right Not to Be Treated with Hostility 159
- Kant and Migration: State and Demos Borders 181
- Author Index
- Subject Index
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Acknowledgment
- Introduction 1
-
Part I Normative Accounts of Kant’s Cosmopolitan Order
- Borders, Cosmopolitan Sovereignty, and Global Mobility. A Kantian Account of Political Interdependence 7
- Cosmopolitanism and Political Realism: Kant’s Double Legacy and Contemporary Political Challenge 27
- Is Humanity (Morally) Progressing? Kant’s Philosophy of History under a Cosmopolitan Perspective 43
-
Part II Kant’s Cosmopolitanism: Between Past and Future
- The Rights of Foreigners. Grotius, Pufendorf, and Kant 71
- Kant’s Cosmopolitan Philosophy in the Face of the Challenges of Migration 89
- No One Is Illegal (Only) in the Kingdom of Ends: Migration and the Double Legacy of Kant’s Political Philosophy 113
-
Part III Contemporary Migration Under the Lens of Kant’s Cosmopolitan Right
- The Right to Dwell (Anywhere) on Earth and the Promise of Human Community 137
- Kant, Migration, and the Cosmopolitan Right Not to Be Treated with Hostility 159
- Kant and Migration: State and Demos Borders 181
- Author Index
- Subject Index
