Moral concern, legitimacy, and justice of cosmopolitan and non-cosmopolitan theorists.

What is it about?

On cosmopolitan theories, everyone deserves equal respect and consideration as ultimate units of moral concern independent of citizenship or other affiliation. On non-cosmopolitan theories citizenship, status, or other affiliations help determine what we owe to others. Surprisingly, non-cosmopolitans can grant that everyone deserves equal respect and consideration as ultimate units of moral concern and cosmopolitans can hold that citizenship status or other affiliations may help determine what we owe to others. Cosmopolitans and non-cosmopolitans usually disagree about whether or not it is acceptable to give priority to the claims of compatriots over, more needy, outsiders. Often the crucial claim in non-cosmopolitan arguments is that non-humanitarian obligations of legitimacy or justice only pertain within states.4 This chapter takes issue with this claim.

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