Cosmopolitanism and Its Limits: Comments on Cosmopolitan Justice

Abstract

Darrel Moellendorf believes that our political choices should be guided by moral principles attending to interests of people throughout the world, that the interests of compatriots do not necessarily take priority over the interests of foreigners, that people in rich and powerful countries ought to do much more than they do now to help poor and oppressed foreigners, and that the justification of these moral demands properly expresses a perspective of equal respect for all individuals everywhere. At each of these points, he and I are fellowcosmopolitans. I greatly admire the diversity and cogency of the arguments through which he defends this cosmopolitan framework. I also admire his commitment to fill in this framework through forthright statement and ingenious defence of many specific and controversial cosmopolitan claims. Agree with him or not, he stakes out important, connected positions whose assessment is bound to clarify the nature of international justice.