Cosmopolitanism

Abstract

The word ‘cosmopolitan’, which derives from the Greekword kosmopolitēs (‘citizen of the world’),has been used to describe a wide variety of important views in moraland socio-political philosophy. The nebulous core shared by allcosmopolitan views is the idea that all human beings, regardless oftheir political affiliation, are (or can and should be) citizens in asingle community. Different versions of cosmopolitanism envision thiscommunity in different ways, some focusing on political institutions,others on moral norms or relationships, and still others focusing onshared markets or forms of cultural expression. In most versions ofcosmopolitanism, the universal community of world citizens functionsas a positive ideal to be cultivated, but a few versions exist inwhich it serves primarily as a ground for denying the existence ofspecial obligations to local forms of politicalorganizations. Versions of cosmopolitanism also vary depending on thenotion of citizenship they employ, including whether they use thenotion of ‘world citizenship’ literally or metaphorically. Thephilosophical interest in cosmopolitanism lies in its challenge tocommonly recognized attachments to fellow-citizens, the local state,parochially shared cultures, and the like.