Impediments Against Cosmopolitanism Research Assignment (Essay Sample)

Cosmopolitanism
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Cosmopolitanism is an ideology citing that all people in the world belong to one community; this ideology is based on the context of a shared morality among human beings. The proponents of this ideology are usually referred to as cosmopolites. Kwame Anthony defines cosmopolitanism as universality plus difference (Appiah, 2006). A community which is cosmopolitan is bound by a shared political structure or an inclusive morality that is envisaged in many countries or nations. A cosmopolitan community is composed of individuals originating from diverse backgrounds that exist cordially and develop relationships founded on mutual respect. Individuals can originate from different political class, religious beliefs, and physical locations. Despite the individuals having different social beliefs, they come together and form mutual relationships with respect for everyone’s uniqueness (Appiah, 2006). These relationships can be between communities, nations, and states. All cities and localities hosting people from different cultures who live mutually are referred to as cosmopolitan towns or cities. Cosmopolitanism can be viewed as a global politics which project a sociality comprised of a strong political engagement existing among all individuals globally, the sociality can also be ethnically or socially superior over other forms of social engagements.
Kwame supports cosmopolitanism through the assertions that cultures are respected not merely because they are important but because people matter and the cultures matter to people (Appiah, 2006). Cosmopolitanism is not merely a theory; it exists practically on the globe with new modern technology such as transportation and communication technologies fostering cosmopolitan lifestyles. These technologies enable the citizens of individual countries to become embodied in the global ethos through communication and ease of interactions brought about by new technologies (Appiah, 2006). kwame in his book introduced two ideas supporting cosmopolitanism, kwame cited that individuals have obligations bigger than just belonging and sharing a nationality. Kwame also cites that people should never take for granted the value of life and thus strive to be informed about the beliefs and cultures of others. The above ideas are intertwined in the notion of cosmopolitanism. Despite the cultural and background differences, these people coexist peacefully and relate mutually to one another (Appiah, 2006). The peaceful existence of people from different walks of life in major cities in the world such as Dubai presents a perfect example of the existence of cosmopolitanism in the world. Philosophers cited that people in their everyday lives always developed relationships with other people, such relationships between people and total strangers is not bound by any written laws and thus suggest that all people globally belong to one community . The ease of making new relationships and establishing connections with people from other cultures and nations suggest that all human beings in the world belong to the same community thus explaining cosmopolitanism.
There exist critics who are impediments against cosmopolitanism. The critics cite that cosmopolitanism is impossible and meaningless without encompassing in it the context of world-state. Critics further suggest that it is impossible to alter the current state of the world’s political landscape to form a global federation of st...