The Cosmopolitan Tradition

September 1, 2019

What does it mean--and what has it meant--to be a world citizen? Nussbaum (philosophy & law, Univ. of Chicago; Anger and Forgiveness) sympathetically reminds readers of how the stoic ideal of world citzenship has been developed in key texts by Cicero, Hugo Grotius, and Adam Smith. Nussbaum obviously values this tradition but finds damaging stoicism's cultivation of apathy toward externals. Furthermore, for a political philosophy of international relations (whereby nations hold one another accountable to the needs of justice within their realms), such an ethic is blind to the need to care for nonhuman life and the world environment. Nussbaum joins others (such as economist Amartya Sen) in seeking to enunciate a "capabilities approach"--that is, that social and political justice within and among nations aims at human flourishing, and that such flourishing requires not only liberty but also essential material goods for each person to develop one's human capabilities. VERDICT Nussbaum wants to extend the "cosmopolitan tradition" to address key problems, among them international human rights, foreign aid, and asylum and immigration issues. As usual, she demonstrates the value of reading old texts in order to address contemporary concerns in this timely and well-argued contribution.--Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL

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July 1, 2019
An internationally acclaimed philosopher considers the moral responsibilities of world citizens. In a penetrating and salient collection of essays, Nussbaum (Law, Philosophy/Univ. of Chicago; The Monarchy of Fear: A Philosopher Looks at our Political Crisis, 2018, etc.), the latest recipient of the Berggruen Prize for Philosophy and Culture, examines the cosmopolitan tradition and its relationship to the challenges of pluralism and globalism in contemporary life. Four pieces trace the history of cosmopolitanism through the work of significant thinkers who grappled with questions of ethical behavior, social responsibility, moral capacities, and human worth: Cicero; Greek Cynics and Stoics, represented by Marcus Aurelius; 17th-century Dutch legal scholar Hugo Grotius; and 18th-century Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith. The final essays consider thorny contemporary moral problems, such as glaring economic inequality, migration, the efficacy of foreign aid, and human responsibility for the natural world. The cosmopolitan tradition, with roots in ancient Greece and Rome, is grounded in the idea of "the equal, and unconditional, worth of all human beings" who have a basic capacity "for moral learning and choice" and whose dignity is not "inherently hierarchical or based on the idea of a rank-ordered society." Although central to political liberalism and human rights declarations, cosmopolitanism nevertheless presents "intellectual and practical problems" in considering "what type of treatment human dignity requires." Specifically, how do material possessions and opportunities, such as access to adequate nourishment, clean water, health care, and education, affect an individual's expression of dignity and exercise of choice? Providing material support may raise problems: The "benevolent paternalism" of foreign aid, for example, may undermine community efforts to create "durable and adequate health institutions." Nussbaum makes clear and accessible works and ideas that may be unfamiliar to most readers, and she persuasively argues for a revision of cosmopolitanism--the Capabilities Approach--that emphasizes "the priority of individual entitlements" in promoting human dignity, melding duties of justice with duties of material aid, and taking into account "people's substantial freedoms to choose things that they value." A timely and insightful analysis of ethical dilemmas.

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