Rosenthal, Joel H. --- "Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism" [2012] ELECD 287; in Porsdam, Helle (ed), "Civil Religion, Human Rights and International Relations" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2012)

Book Title: Civil Religion, Human Rights and International Relations

Editor(s): Porsdam, Helle

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9781781000519

Section: Chapter 4

Section Title: Patriotism and Cosmopolitanism

Author(s): Rosenthal, Joel H.

Number of pages: 14

Extract:

4. Patriotism and cosmopolitanism
Joel H. Rosenthal

Is it possible to be faithful to both one's country and to the world? The
exchange between Helle Porsdam and Paul Kahn provides a window into
the paradox of patriotism and cosmopolitanism. Americans have a natural
inclination to combine particular national interests with universal moral
aspirations, sometimes naively and even dangerously so. America's civil
religion ­ and its narrative as developed in the Declaration of Independ-
ence, the constitution, Lincoln's Second Inaugural, and Roosevelt's Four
Freedoms ­ all bind America's story to a universal story. There can be no
doubt, as Porsdam illustrates, that America sees itself as a moral nation
with a moral purpose. And yet, as Kahn points out, isn't it asking a bit
much to expect others to see it the same way?


GLOBALIZATION AND A NEW AGE OF RIGHTS
When the Cold War ended, a new era of globalization began in earnest. It
brought with it a new age of rights. We live now with intense flows of
capital, of information, of people, and of pollution, raising profound issues
of human concern and human values. The simplest elements of daily life ­
air, water, food, clothes, and money ­ all of these basic goods are more
visibly connected to the global economy and environment than ever before.
Access to, and use of, these goods leads to concerns for basic rights. In this
new age of globalization, it is not much of a leap to see how the ` ...