Cosmopolitan Justice and the Globalization of Capitalism: The UNDP and ILO Proposals

Abstract

Recently several proposals for more effective, democratic and just forms of global governance have been put forward. In this paper I compare the proposals by the United Nations Development Programme, the International Labour Organization and cosmopolitan democrats like David Held. I assess to what extent they are in accordance with cosmopolitan views of global justice and I critically evaluate to what extent they may be feasible interim steps. The conclusion is that even though some proposals are more radical than others, they all leave in place the current institutions of an international order based on sovereign nation-states, global capitalism and its resulting inequality, and models of development as based on maximizing economic growth. If cosmopolis is to replace empire in the international system, then these certainties need to be open for discussion, too.