Arguments Against Common National Identity

Common national identity is an important and valuable quality of most states but the degree in which it is threatened by immigrants is often overstated. Though not common, instances arise through immigration which truly threaten the common life enjoyed by members of a state. In these instances, I believe that exclusion can be justified if the reasons for immigration are of a particular variety. I will outline in this essay with reference to Carens, Miller and Blake how I believe immigration threatens common national identity, how exclusion is justified and finally how to decide exactly who may be justly excluded. I will begin by briefly discussing why a common national identity is important to the rights of states in the first place.
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Migrants cannot be excluded strictly on the basis of race, gender or religion; Miller states that even tennis clubs are not entitled to exclude on such grounds. At first glance it may seem as though those features contribute to a common national identity, however those shallow attributes alone cannot flood a common life. Qualities such as a willingness to acquire local language competency and an interest in acquiring skills which translate into becoming an active and productive member of society determine whether an individual will hinder or contribute to a common life. Democratic states form their common national identities on the basis of equality says Miller, and in doing so these states have the right to exclude in order to protect this quality and accept in order to promote it. When making each and every choice, I believe, a state teeters on a precipice between just protection of a common life and unjust discrimination. Identifying the existence of just exclusion on the basis of protection of a common life is a step in the right direction, stabilizing the balance, but the slippery and uncertain slope still