This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
The meaning of naturalization in Article I of the US Constitution
The US Constitution provides that Congress has the power "to establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization". The Courts have generally pointed to this as evidence of legislative authority here, going so far as to say "Whatever the procedure authorized by Congress is, it is due process as far as an alien denied entry is concerned".
There is much discussed about what it means and what are the rules around excluding or removing non-citizens, but missing (for me, maybe I'm reading the wrong sources) is the flip side of the question: what does it mean to admit or naturalize one.
Back to Blackstone
Blackstone is usually the baseline for founding-era American legal thought, so let's peruse through his treatise on the matter and "the first and most obvious division of the people is into aliens and natural-born subjects."
Foremost for Blackstone is allegiance (weirdly shortened to ligeance in a few places) -- those born within the realm owe "natural allegiance" immediately on their birth. Indeed, Blackstone doesn't even believe you have the right to renounce this, stating that it is "a debt of gratitude; which cannot be forfeited, cancelled, or altered, by any change of time, place, or circumstance, nor by any thing but the united concurrence of the legislature". Visitors, on the other hand, owe "local allegiance" for so long as they are around and not a moment longer. There is also a middle state, "denizens", akin to a lawful resident, that owes allegiance and is permitted to reside but is not granted the duties of natural born citizens.
The more interesting piece to me is what it means to naturalize. Blackstone here says that parliament gets that power, by which "an alien is put in exactly the same state as if he had been born in the king's ligeance; except only that he is incapable ... of being a member of the privy council, or parliament".
Vattel's Natural Law
Vattel likewise starts with the core distinction between natives and aliens. He surveys though, that England is relatively unique in requiring the consent of the legislature (and not just the ruler) to naturalize. Like Blackstone, he also refers to a half state of those allowed to inhabit but not granted citizenship that he calls "inhabitants".
[ As an aside, Vattel also saw that no citizen with a useful skill be allowed to leave: "Every citizen owes his personal services to his country; and a mechanic, in particular, who has been reared, educated, and instructed in its bosom, cannot lawfully leave it, and carry to a foreign land that industry which he acquired at home, unless his country has no occasion for him, or he cannot there obtain the just fruit of his labour and abilities." -- I didn't set out to read about bars to emigration here but it's interesting that it comes up on a repeated sense. Maybe that's worth another post. ]
Federalist #42
Madison looks more to alignment between the States, looking at the unworkability of individual states both being required to protect the privileges of all Americans. To him, subsuming the authority in the United States was as essential to harmony between the States having a uniform rule of bankruptcy, uniform rules on weights/measures and the like. This flows again from the above -- citizenship is singular and indelible.
My Take
Really for my own curiosity, I think I understand a lot better the intent. On a meta note, I reiterate that it's weird to have so much discourse on exclusion/removal without anyone talking about the inverse operation.
OT side notice:
While I get that Blackstone was an Englishmen, I find it a bit rich that US legal thought should be based on him.
The US was founded by people who defected from what Blackstone would consider their rightful king. In fact, eight of the signers of the declaration of independence appear to have been born in the Old World. One might perhaps weasel around how the declaration of independence was not a defection for the people born in the colonies, because they remained loyal to the government of their colony or some such, but someone born in England coming to the New World and renouncing the king has pretty much rejected the natural allegiance thing. As did any immigrants who came later.
Not that I have a problem with any of that, I firmly believe one's allegiance to one's country of birth is a useful default but certainly not unconditional. If one's country is fucked up enough, an utilitarian has a duty to defect.
I think this misses something very crucial. To borrow from another revolutionary, they came not to abolish English Law but to fulfill it.
Moreover, there is significant verbiage in the Declaration of Independence first, on not renouncing one's due allegiance for trivial or transient causes, and second on claiming that it was the King that had violated his duties first and foremost.
It was certainly quite different than revolutionary France that swept away the Ancien Regime and replaced it root and stem with their own devising. Of course, England had a centuries long tradition that, at least imperfectly, matched their ideology.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link