Cosmopolitanism: A Philosophy for Global Ethics

207 Pages·2009·1.741 MB·English

by  Stan van Hooft

Cosmopolitanism
Also by Stan van Hooft and published by Acumen
Understanding Virtue Ethics
Cosmopolitanism
A Philosophy for Global Ethics
Stan van Hooft
RO Routledge
U
TLEDG Taylor & Francis Group
E
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published in 2009 by Acumen
Published 2014 by Routledge
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© Stan van Hooft, 2009
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ISBN: 978-1-84465-192-4 (hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-84465-193-1 (paperback)
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Typeset in Warnock Pro.
Contents
Introduction 1
1. Cosmopolitanism and patriotism 21
2. Human rights 55
3. Global justice 83
4. Lasting peace 111
5. Towards a global community 141
Notes 171
Bibliography 181
Index 193
v
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Introduction
Ethical challenges of globalization
Th e basic fact that human experiential space is being subtly changed
through an opening to cosmopolitanization should not lead us to assume
that we are all becoming cosmopolitans. Even the most positive conceiv-
able development – an erosion of frontiers between cultural horizons and
a growing sensitivity towards unfamiliar geographies of life and coexist-
ence – does not necessarily demand a sense of cosmopolitan responsibil-
ity. Th e question of how such a sense might become even a possibility has
up to now scarcely been posed, let alone investigated. (Beck 2004: 154)
Th e world is facing crises in global politics and international relations that
have only recently begun to be discussed in the philosophical literature. Th ere
is a crisis in peace highlighted by the so-called war on terror (Sterba 2003b).
Th ere is a refugee crisis with people moving around the globe in unprecedented
numbers driven by war, persecution, famine and economic hardship (Carens
1987; Goodin 1992; Boswell 2005). Th ere is a crisis of global justice with entire
populations in underdeveloped parts of the world facing the threat of star-
vation owing to avoidable poverty.1 Th ere is a global environmental crisis, of
which climate change is only the most widely debated consequence (Jonas 1984;
Crocker & Linden 1998; Newton 2003). Th ere is a crisis in the global economy
with the high social costs of globalization and trade as well as threats to sup-
plies of energy resources (Sen 1999). Th ere is a crisis in human rights with
many regimes unwilling to honour the requirements of human dignity (Vincent
1992; Campbell 2006; Churchill 2006). And there is the so-called “clash of civil-
izations” in which major world religions and political ideologies are implicated
in global tensions (Huntington 1996; Caputo 2001). Because of globalization we
all have a part to play in addressing problems of global governance, manage-
ment of the environment, maintenance of peace, equitable global distribution
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cosmopolitanism
of social goods and resources, humanitarian assistance, intercultural tolerance
and understanding, and the protection of human dignity around the world.
Accordingly, it could be claimed that we are “global citizens” and that we should
develop a “global ethics” through which we can articulate and exercise our glo-
bal responsibilities as such citizens. Th e aim of this book is to articulate, expli-
cate and develop a normative philosophical framework for global ethics and
international relations that has recently become widely discussed under the
term “cosmopolitanism”.2
International relations is an academic discipline that is relatively well estab-
lished while global ethics is an emerging fi eld in applied ethics, one that pro-
vides a meeting point between theorists of international law, political science,
political philosophy, economics and development studies, as well as interna-
tional relations itself (Dower 1998, 2003; Amstutz 1999; Rawls 1999; O’Neill
2000; Singer 2002). It is, however, inadequate to approach the scholarly study of
global ethics as if it were a form of applied ethics seeking to embody the moral
theories developed in the Western philosophical tradition (Pollis & Schwab
1979; Commers et al. 2008). Global ethics must not just be an application of
our Western way of thinking to global problems, but must be a form of ethical
thinking that is itself global in its resonance and appeal. It must be an ethics
founded on a moral framework that all thinkers and policy-makers in the world
can accept. Accordingly, it must transcend the particular cultural traditions of
those thinkers and policy-makers and appeal to norms inherent in humanity
itself (Gaita 1999). We need not only an ethics for a global society, but also a
globally valid ethics.
Globalization
Th e process of globalization has had immeasurable impacts on our daily lives
and on international politics. Globalization includes the following set of pro-
cesses and changes:
• Th e world economic system has become highly complex and interdepend-
ent. Many nation-states are unable to control eff ectively their own eco-
nomic policies in their national interests. Many smaller states that depend
on agriculture are no longer able to be self-suffi cient in feeding their popu-
lations because they have largely replaced food crops for their own popu-
lations with cash crops grown for the international market. Multinational
corporations, some of which have budgets larger than small nation-states,
are able to situate manufacturing and service centres anywhere in the
world where labour is cheapest, regulations and taxes least onerous and
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introduction: ethical challenges of globalization
access to markets most eff ective. Terms of trade between nations are dic-
tated by the more powerful states.
• International diplomacy has been transformed from bilateral relation-
ships centred on disputes over territory or resources to a multitude of
multilateral arrangements and agreements relating to everything from
management of the Antarctic to the structures of international fi nancial
institutions. Th is has given rise to systems of international politics of great
complexity involving issues of global governance through such bodies as
the United Nations (UN) that require the creation and policing of inter-
national law.
• Th ere has been a greater realization that disasters and risks in one coun-
try can have global eff ects. Th is is most obviously true in relation to the
environment and global warming, but it also applies to poverty, oppres-
sion and injustice, all of which result in cross-border fl ows of refugees.
Th e HIV/AIDS epidemic is also an international scourge that does not
respect borders.
• War has ceased to be a relatively limited form of international confl ict
between specifi c states but has become a global phenomenon in sev-
eral senses. First, there were the two “world wars” in which a great many
nations were involved. Secondly, there was the “cold war” during which
the world was divided into two mutually antagonistic armed camps that
pitted capitalism against communism. Th irdly, there is the almost constant
presence in the contemporary world of armed confl icts at a more local
level, ranging from civil wars, violent political struggles and ethnic cleans-
ing to humanitarian interventions. Th ese confl icts become the concern of
the world community through the UN, which is charged with maintaining
peace globally.
• As a result of the terrorist attacks in the USA of 11 September 2001 and
the growth of terrorism more generally, there has been a greater realiza-
tion of the impacts of culture on world politics. Whether this is under-
stood as a confl ict between “civilizations” (Huntington 1996) or as a clash
between religions (Armstrong 2000), the world is increasingly seen as
divided between modern liberal societies and traditional theocracies.
Whatever the accuracy of this analysis, it is clear that global confl ict is
based on more than economic or territorial rivalries and that cultural dif-
ferences between civilizations can have volatile eff ects. Th e so-called “war
on terror” has forced many people to become more aware of the condi-
tions in which people live in other parts of the world.
• International travel is fast and available to anyone with the funds for the
relatively cheap fares. Whether through tourism or more purposeful
travel, most people in the richer parts of the world are able to experience
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