For Love of Humanity? A Critique of Cosmopolitanism

• In Event: Norms of Liberalism and Cosmopolitanism

Abstract

This paper, the first chapter of my dissertation on the relationship between liberal theory and nationhood, interprets and critiques cosmopolitanism, with particular focus on Martha Nussbaum's advocacy for cosmopolitan education in her famous essay "For Love of Country?" I argue that Nussbaum misrepresents the motivation and rationale of her plea, and that her interpretation of liberalism implies an ultimately illiberal and incoherent approach to citizenship. I use this critique to illuminate the concerns of conservative thinkers such as MacIntyre, Manent, and Scruton, and to suggest that we have the narrative backwards: populist and nationalist movements today must be understood in light of the work of cosmopolitans to transform the meaning of liberalism. I conclude with some reflections on the non-cosmopolitan presuppositions of democracy.

Author

• Daniel Hutter Fram, Harvard University