Cosmopolitanism: Encyclopedia - Cosmopolitanism

Cosmopolitanism

In the realms of social and political philosophy, cosmopolitanism is the idea that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community. This is contrasted with ideologies of patriotism and nationalism. Cosmopolitanism may or may not entail some sort of world government or it may simply refer to more inclusive moral, economic, and/or political relationships between nations or individuals of different nations.

Cosmopolitanism pertains to wide international experience. Cosmopolitan, meaning citizenship of the world; refers to a taste or consideration for cultures besides one's own culture of origin, as with a traveller or globally conscious person. The term derives from Greek cosmos (world) + polis (city, people, citizenry), and was widely used by ancient philosophers, such as the Stoics and Cynics, to describe a universal love of humankind as a whole, regardless of nation. The term may also be used as a synonym for worldly or sophisticated.

Cosmopolitans believe there is a burden on all of the people to cultivate and improve humanity as a whole and to provide enrichment in the best way that they can. This ties into ideas of brotherhood of humanity, and how the human race is one entity that humans must all band together to support. Nation-states are in a Hobbseian state of nature amongst each other, and in order to avoid conflicts and injustices, a "social contract" should be established among them.

The cosmopolitan writer, Demetrius Klitou, argues in his book, "The Friends and Foes of Human Rights," that cosmopolitanism is a major friend and a necessary element of the human rights movement. Furthermore, Klitou argues that a cosmopolitan "Human identity" is as necessary for the triumph of human rights, as a European identity is for a politcal European Union. He controversially argues that, "This is a major dilemma for the European project. We have a European Union, but no Europeans or a European identity. The same is equally true for human rights. We have human rights, but no Humans or a human identity" (p. 44).

Some critics of cosmopolitanism suggest that national affiliations are important to persons' identities, and that cosmopolitanism would strip an important component of social fulfillment and belonging from individuals.

Critics of economic cosmopolitanism argue that the economies of nation-states are necessary for an international economy to function, and a single world economy would fail.

Critics of moral cosmopolitanism argue that the concept of loyalty describes a virtue, and insofar as one does no wrong to people of other nation-states, one's priority should be the people of one's own country.

See also

• anti-nationalism
• cosmopolitan
• democratic globalization
• internationalism
• multiculturalism
• world citizen
• Diogenes of Sinope

Cosmopolitanism - External link

• Cosmopolitanism at the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Cosmopolitanism - Resources

• Amanda Anderson. 1998. Cosmopolitanism, Universalism, and the Divided Legacies of Modernity. In Cosmopolitics: Thinking and Feeling beyond the Nation, edited by P. Cheah and B. Robbins. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
• Bruce Robbins. 1998. Comparative Cosmopolitanisms. In Cosmopolitics: Thinking and Feeling beyond the Nation, edited by P. Cheah and B. Robbins. Minneapolis and London: University of Minnesota Press.
• 2005. The Political Philosophy of Cosmopolitanism, edited by Gillian Brock and Harry Brighouse. Cambridge University Press.

Categories: Cleanup from November 2005 | Human migration | Political theories | Politics | Politics and race

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