3 Theoretical error, real-world problems There is, then, a theoretical error behind substantial real-world problems and those real-world problems are behind the theoretical error. The solution proposed here is theoretical, though it is driven by, and is directed at, reality. It requires a step back from standard theoretical liberal tropes, and the scope of vision they give to liberal State politics. Despite its fundamental importance, noncitizenship has long gone unacknow ledged in liberal political theory and liberal political institutions. As a result, nonci tizens have often been kept from access to even the most basic goods needed for human development – food, shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and primary edu cation.1 This book disassembles the dehumanisation of noncitizens inherent in tra ditional interpretations of liberal political thought in order to acknowledge the reality of noncitizenship as a foundational individual-State relationship.2 Nonciti zenship is more than an absence of citizenship. It can be a mode of engagement with a State in its own right. The argument here, then, is what I refer to as ‘nonciti zenist’ (echoing ‘feminist’). It is that, in order to take seriously the equal moral worth of every human, a liberal theoretical framework and political reality must take account of this noncitizen relationship. This work, is both practically and theoretically urgent. Failure to acknow ledge noncitizen relationships with States seems to enable rights-deprivation, humanity-denial and wilful death. Addressing this practical problem is also important in order to develop a robust and relevant political and legal theory with applicable conclusions. This is not about producing a better alignment between ideal and real theory. It is about examining the world as it really is today and the obligations to which this gives rise. The concerns raised with existing systems are urgent. They threaten the legitimacy of politico-legal theory that does not adequately address the reality of the basic relationship of nonciti zenship. And they threaten the associated rights and obligations. Failure to take the activated noncitizen relationship into account can leave people effectively rightsless in the real world. 1 See opening to Chapter 2. 2 This is done particularly in Chapter 5.