Choosing and Refusing
This chapter deals with the question of how migrants might be justly selected when no individual migrant has a right to move. It considers three possible bases for differentiation: randomness, identity (including religion and race), and skills. The chapter defends the thought that some forms of preference are unjust, even if no one has an antecedent claim to the good of migration. The chapter concludes with an examination of the difficulties that follow, in the real world, from the application of these ideas. It suggests we might face a tragic dilemma—in which we cannot both do justice now and ensure the perpetuation of justice in the future.