The Cosmopolitan Tradition

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From a leading philosopher and Berggruen Prize winner, this work critically examines the cosmopolitan ideal from ancient Greece and Rome to today. The tradition begins with the Greek Cynic Diogenes, who identified as a citizen of the world, emphasizing the equal worth of all humans over lineage or social class. Nussbaum explores this "noble but flawed" vision of world citizenship through figures like Grotius, Smith, and contemporary thinkers. She addresses inherent tensions within the ideal, which posits that moral personality can be complete without external aids, while reality shows that meeting basic material needs is essential for realizing dignity. Given widespread material want, social inequities faced by individuals with disabilities, conflicting beliefs in pluralistic societies, and challenges posed by migration and asylum seekers, Nussbaum questions what political principles we should adopt. She applies her Capabilities Approach to these issues and extends her focus to include the moral claims of nonhuman animals and the environment. The insight that politics should regard all humans as equal and valuable beyond price informs much of modern Western political thought. This work encourages a focus on our shared humanity rather than divisions.