3 - Global justice
Summary
The metaphysics of the relation with the Other is achieved in service and hospitality. In the measure that the face of someone else truly brings us into relation with the third, the metaphysical relation from me to the Other takes the form of a we, and flows into a state, institutions and law, which form the source of universality.
(Levinas 1969: 300)In this chapter we shall explore the following features of cosmopolitanism from the list I proposed in the Introduction:
(8) benevolence to all others irrespective of race, caste, nationality, religion, ethnicity or location;
(9) willingness to come to the aid of those suffering from natural or man-made disasters, including extreme poverty;
(10) commitment to justice in the distribution of natural resources and wealth on a global scale;
(11) global solidarity with struggles for human rights and social justice; and
(12) commitment to the liberalization of immigration and refugee policies.
I shall argue that a person with a cosmopolitan outlook would respond to the vital needs of others, whether they are near or far and irrespective of their nationality, race, caste, religious commitments, gender or ethnicity. The cosmopolitan outlook refuses to allow the distance, difference or anonymity of those who suffer oppression, poverty or catastrophe to obscure the responsibility we all have to respond to their needs. Humanitarian aid Our complacency on this matter was shaken by an article published by Peter Singer in 1972.
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- Information
- CosmopolitanismA Philosophy for Global Ethics, pp. 83 - 110Publisher: Acumen PublishingPrint publication year: 2009