It's a modern (a 'temporary measure' enacted in WW1) invention to enact a passport-controlled system of travel and residency across the entire world.

Border control prior to it was more focused on customs taxes, and in some countries, keeping undesirable races/religions out.

We have decided the latter is wrong, so instead of directly banning, say, Chinese or Jewish immigration, we replaced it with quotas on country of birth/origin.

We can go one step further and also say that the entire system of social welfare is a post-WW2 invention.

Before WW2 the state only helped those who couldn’t help themselves. Now the state just fucks everyone.

> Before WW2 the state only helped those who couldn’t help themselves

Not...really? Unless by "state" you are broadly including the church and other philanthropy.

> Before WW2 the state only helped those who couldn’t help themselves.

Through much of human history, the state largely 'helped' the aristocracy maintain a monopoly on wealth and power, through frequent applications of violence against their political enemies. In fact, in ~all non-democratic, and in many democratic societies, the state and the aristocracy - and thus, their interests, are often indistinguishable.

But either way, what does any of that have to do with passport controls?

> It's a modern (a 'temporary measure' enacted in WW1) invention to enact a passport-controlled system of travel and residency across the entire world.

I wonder if the same will happen to online travel pre-entry-authorizations.

During Covid many countries implemented pre-entry-authorizations, similar to US ESTA or Canadian ETA.

Even if the Covid emergency state has been over, some countries that didn't have this forms before, still require them for travel.

That's just an implementation detail. Before COVID, some countries would hand out various visitor visas to most travelers at the border, some require arranging them in advance, almost all differ in their requirements based which country's passport you hold, and based on which kind of reciprocity agreements they have with their counterpart.

While borders have a long history, checking passports at borders is indeed a "modern invention" and controlling emigration was explicitly part of the motivation for its adoption and why "being issued a passport" isn't considered a human right.

It isn't. Free movement of people hasn't been a thing since the invention of civilization. You needed seals/papers to get in/out of city-states, duchies etc. They reference passport-like paperwork in the bible. I know history is boring, but it doesn't hurt to try it sometime.

I've crossed into Mexico many times and not once have they asked for an identity document. You find out what a piece of cattle you are when you enter the US, though.

Try that with Canada.