ABSTRACT
The animosity that open border activists direct towards the physical boundaries separating nations is more than matched by the negative sentiments with which the private sphere is framed in the current era. One of the most significant achievements of the open border movement has been its success in undermining the legitimacy of the boundary separating the public from the private sphere. Powerful cultural currents suggest that the private sphere should be opened up to the public gaze. People who take their privacy seriously are presumed to have something to hide or to possess dysfunctional personalities that are unable to open up. The media treats privacy as a condition to be breached for the purpose of entertainment. The act of opening up is presented, not as a personal option, but as a public duty. The erosion of the symbolic boundary between these two domains has had a profound bearing on how people conduct their informal and intimate relationships. Arguing for the necessity of countering this trend, Furedi puts forward the case for defending and valuing the private sphere.
