Cosmopolitanism

The ideology of cosmopolitanism is, the entire human race is connected together and creates one community, which has a shared morality. Someone who is cosmopolitan is described by many authors as, a person with a widely defined position of openness toward other people with origins that are not similar to their own. When individuals show cosmopolitan openness toward others, it is demonstrated in political, cultural, or aesthetic domains. This attitude is expressed by ethical and emotional dedication toward universalism, selflessness, worldliness and communitarianism. To be a cosmopolitanism is to have a perspective, or state of mind that involves particular modes of managing meanings, and varieties of mobilities.

The word cosmopolitan derives from the Greek word cosmos, which refers to the universe. People in a cosmopolitan society are connected across this universe, different states, nations, or continents, and they have a shared respect with each other based on morality, political structure, or a shared economic connection. Cosmopolitanism thinkers’ believer that all borders should be broken down and everyone should unite as one.

Cosmopolitanism recognizes that depending on location, economics, and culture, humans are different (in their beliefs, politics, morals, etc) and we can learn from the differences that we have. According to Richard Burton, a cosmopolitan openness to humankind across the world is entirely consistent with picking and choosing among the options you find in your exploration. No nation can be self sufficient, so all nations should work together to supply each other with what we need to make this world turn smoothly. It is the responsibility of every cosmopolitan to watch over and care for every other human being on the planet.

There is an ongoing debate whether cosmopolitanism literature has a class bias. Some authors think that cosmopolitanism is only for the privileged elites who have a higher education level, income, and capacity for mobility. This came from the late Victorian England era, when the cosmopolitanism belief was most common among the educated upper classes. Higher education, whether formal or informal, when examining cross ethnic lines without bias, expands a person’s cultural awareness. The same is true for the financial ability to travel globally, experiencing other societies (their religious, political, and cultural differences) first hand, can give a person an openness to humankind.

Works cited:

Kwame, Appiah. Cosmopolitanism, Ethics in a world of strangers. New York: Norton & Co, 2006. Web

Woodward, Ian. and Skrbis, Zlatko. "Strategic cosmopolitanism: Investigating the limits of cosmopolitan openness" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal Convention Center, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Aug 11, 2006