Cosmopolitismo, nacionalismo liberal e soberania: o que o fenómeno migratório nos diz sobre a relação entre inclusão e exclusão nas sociedades liberais

Abstract

Cosmopolitanism is based on the liberal principle of moral egalitarianism, i.e., the moral equality of every human being. At the same time, liberalism, as a historical and political movement, finds in the state the agent and representative of political communities that exercise their sovereign power within national borders. States, therefore, operate by way of the exclusion of non-citizens. Moral egalitarianism, however, questions the “moral significance” of borders and, consequently, the difference between nationals and foreigners. This article analyses this “liberal dilemma”, considering the arguments of those who defend the “right to exclude” and concluding that there may be a legitimate interest in protecting national “goods”, both tangible and intangible, and that this interest justifies controlling access to national territory, but does not justify the “right to exclude”.

Keywords

• nationalism
• migrations
• cosmopolitanism
• liberalism
• rights of citizens