4 ms·

So, what good is this list? To make the people on top feel smug, and the people on bottom foment revolution to change their country? It's not like you can eas

So, what good is this list? To make the people on top feel smug, and the people on bottom foment revolution to change their country? It's not like you can easily choose your passport like choosing a sports team or college or something.

maccard 7y ago
If you look at the source (arton Capital) their business is "high net worth investors" - so this list is for their high net worth clients to choose which country they want to invest in.
- yeahitslikethat 7y ago
  Or get citizenship in.
  - maccard 7y ago
    Sorry my "invest in" was supposed to be in air quotes - too late to edit. This is exactly what they want. However they're less concerned about actusl citizenship and more with the benefits (tax status, access to countries/properties)
- kevin_b_er 7y ago
  Part of it is them selling support and work on changing citizenship through money. The very rich do not have allegiance to a nation, only to themselves.
chki 7y ago
I think it's mostly just an interesting collection of state relations. For example you can compare the difference between two EU member states with similar "passport power" and figure out why one country has free access to Mongolia and the other to Nigeria.
aluren 7y ago
I think it makes an excellent point for borders not really making sense in the first place and having little reason to exist beyond adding leverage for dictators in poor countries and assuaging people's fear of foreigners. Both are probably linked.
- mc32 7y ago
  So, who should rule people in those places, the UN, Russia, China, the US, someone else, anarchy? Just try to get India and Pakistan to "erase their border" see the reaction you get.
  - aluren 7y ago
    India and Pakistan have very hostile relationships and a tumultuous past so it is one of the more understandable cases. (Still not an excuse seeing how the EU came to be half a century after one of the bloodiest wars of history ravaged the continent.) For other countries that are at peace and don't have any inclination to go to war with one another though, why enforce borders at all, if not as a vested interest for both parties to control their population on one side and appease xenophobic fear on the other?
    - mc32 7y ago
      People are probably ok with trade and flow of people, but probably a lot less so if you propose reassigning Alsace-Lorraine to Germany or Provence-Alpes to the control of Italy. In other words the “land” which is what borders are about and protect. Let’s say there are two countries, Denmark and Sweden. If one day Denmark is going downhill and 50% of the pop would want to move to Sweden because life is much better there and Denmark is going nowhere but down, why shouldn’t it be in Sweden’s interest to one, either stop the flow or alternatively take control and annex Denmark in order to bring it into the fold? In any case, I see it eventually resulting in a new colonialism where elites and businesses are the main ones deriving advantage and wealth from this new arrangement. Localities lose power to distant and disconnected power.
      - 7y ago
wickerman 7y ago
It tells you a lot about foreign/trade relations but for people who can move around/work or be able to claim ancestry for passports it might be a nifty guide to keep in mind. I know a Latvian who was living in Ireland, and applied for Irish citizenship solely for easier travel (which also required renouncing their latvian citizenship). In Europe it's not hard to find people with multiple ancestries (i.e. born in one country, with parents from two different parts of the world) and for them it's also a good guide to see if it's worth applying for citizenship if they want the access that the passport gives them.
laken 7y ago
> It's not like you can easily choose your passport like choosing a sports team or college or something. If you're rich, you kinda can. This website appears to be associated with an investment firm of some kind, and there are many visa investment programs, and even some citizenship investment programs. Quite a few high wealth people use multiple citizenships as an "insurance" of sorts, in addition to increased convenience during travel (using your dual citizenship's passport to travel to one where your passport isn't visa-free).

maccard 7y ago

If you look at the source (arton Capital) their business is "high net worth investors" - so this list is for their high net worth clients to choose which country they want to invest in.

yeahitslikethat 7y ago
Or get citizenship in.
- maccard 7y ago
  Sorry my "invest in" was supposed to be in air quotes - too late to edit. This is exactly what they want. However they're less concerned about actusl citizenship and more with the benefits (tax status, access to countries/properties)
kevin_b_er 7y ago
Part of it is them selling support and work on changing citizenship through money. The very rich do not have allegiance to a nation, only to themselves.

chki 7y ago

I think it's mostly just an interesting collection of state relations. For example you can compare the difference between two EU member states with similar "passport power" and figure out why one country has free access to Mongolia and the other to Nigeria.

aluren 7y ago

I think it makes an excellent point for borders not really making sense in the first place and having little reason to exist beyond adding leverage for dictators in poor countries and assuaging people's fear of foreigners. Both are probably linked.

mc32 7y ago
So, who should rule people in those places, the UN, Russia, China, the US, someone else, anarchy? Just try to get India and Pakistan to "erase their border" see the reaction you get.
- aluren 7y ago
  India and Pakistan have very hostile relationships and a tumultuous past so it is one of the more understandable cases. (Still not an excuse seeing how the EU came to be half a century after one of the bloodiest wars of history ravaged the continent.) For other countries that are at peace and don't have any inclination to go to war with one another though, why enforce borders at all, if not as a vested interest for both parties to control their population on one side and appease xenophobic fear on the other?
  - mc32 7y ago
    People are probably ok with trade and flow of people, but probably a lot less so if you propose reassigning Alsace-Lorraine to Germany or Provence-Alpes to the control of Italy. In other words the “land” which is what borders are about and protect. Let’s say there are two countries, Denmark and Sweden. If one day Denmark is going downhill and 50% of the pop would want to move to Sweden because life is much better there and Denmark is going nowhere but down, why shouldn’t it be in Sweden’s interest to one, either stop the flow or alternatively take control and annex Denmark in order to bring it into the fold? In any case, I see it eventually resulting in a new colonialism where elites and businesses are the main ones deriving advantage and wealth from this new arrangement. Localities lose power to distant and disconnected power.
    - 7y ago

wickerman 7y ago

It tells you a lot about foreign/trade relations but for people who can move around/work or be able to claim ancestry for passports it might be a nifty guide to keep in mind. I know a Latvian who was living in Ireland, and applied for Irish citizenship solely for easier travel (which also required renouncing their latvian citizenship). In Europe it's not hard to find people with multiple ancestries (i.e. born in one country, with parents from two different parts of the world) and for them it's also a good guide to see if it's worth applying for citizenship if they want the access that the passport gives them.

laken 7y ago

> It's not like you can easily choose your passport like choosing a sports team or college or something. If you're rich, you kinda can. This website appears to be associated with an investment firm of some kind, and there are many visa investment programs, and even some citizenship investment programs. Quite a few high wealth people use multiple citizenships as an "insurance" of sorts, in addition to increased convenience during travel (using your dual citizenship's passport to travel to one where your passport isn't visa-free).