Equality, Cosmopolitanism, and Global Justice

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter argues that the model of global justice developed in this book adequately reflects our moral equality and also can defensibly claim to be cosmopolitan. The chapter begins by considering the kind of equality a model of global justice should reflect. An account of relational equality (in general) and democratic equality (in particular) is endorsed. There are problems and opportunities extending such an account from the domestic to the global sphere, which are addressed. It is argued that the account captures our equality better than rival conceptions (such as those that reflect a commitment to a global difference principle, global equality of opportunity, or global basic income). Altogether the account shows strong support for our equal moral worth and supports our equality on multiple levels, as is shown using examples. The kind of cosmopolitanism endorsed is also located using familiar distinctions and introducing some new ones.