Cosmopolitanism

Christopher George

Ethical Theory

Cosmopolitanism

Conversation is a very powerful tool when used correctly. Using conversation across cultures to solve issues and resolve conflict is something that Cosmopolitanism emphasizes in its ideology. Cosmopolitanism uses the basis of conversation as a root to solving conflicts, and learning to live in a multicultural society successfully. Cosmopolitanism is all about the understanding of others. Appiah states “I am urging that we should learn about people in other places, take an interest in their civilizations, their arguments, their errors, their achievements, not because that will bring us to agreement, but because it will help us get used to one another. If that is the aim, then the act that we have all these opportunities for disagreement about values need not put us off. Understand one another may be hard; it can certainly be interesting. But it doesn’t require that we come to agreement” (Appiah 78). Appiah is saying that according to Cosmopolitanism, we can still have our disagreements about certain ideas, but come to an understanding of each other in order to appreciate their views. This idea of communication leads to a more harmonious society when people can come to a better understanding of each other. The aim of Cosmopolitanism is to live together in a more peaceful harmonious state and avoid unnecessary conflict. This idea when applied to the real world may not occur the way Appiah imagined, but there are definitely case studies in the real world where a lack of communication resulted in conflict.

A big conflict going on is a moral issue of whether or not we should intervene to help people in Sudan who are at civil war, and whether or not the UN (United Nations) should be doing something about this. The UN is an international organization which was erected in order to keep international peace. The U.N deals with international law, international security, economic development, social progress, and human rights issues. The security of those living in Sudan is being compromised. Sudan is faced with a civil war. Arabs (the rebels) are keeping the Sudanese people in check by preventing them of having a say in politics by killing innocent people in villages. The Sudanese in defense created the Sudanese People Liberation Army (SPLA) which fights these rebels in order to gain back control. “The ongoing civil war has displaced more than 4 million southerners. These people were unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves, and malnutrition and starvation became widespread. The lack of investment in the south resulted as well in what international humanitarian organizations call a “lost generation” who lack educational opportunities, access to basic health care services, and little prospects for productive employment in the small and weak economies of the south or the north” (Pike). Pike explains the conditions that these people had to endure due to the civil war. Whether or not the U.N should take more of an active role in this war is a moral issue at hand. In order to come to a resolution there may need to be more of an intervention in order to sort things out. But the problem with intervention is that it may not be our place to do so. It is their war, not ours to worry about. This is where the lack of communication is very evident. The children of Sudan dealt with just as much turmoil as those who were fighting the war. The stories of these children have been told by many different people in many different villages, and some of these children have even come to American to tell their story and start a new life.

The novel What is the What by Eggers tells a tale of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The main character in the novel is a boy named Valentino who lived in Sudan during the escalation of the dispute of the rebels and the SPLA. Valentino tells his story while he is being robbed in his own home years later. Valentino experiences the harsh times of the war. He is forced out of his village in Sudan to resort to a life of a nomad; he is always on the run from the violence. While on the run the boys don’t have many if any provisions of food and water. They deal with issues of clean water, a constant food source, and lack of medical aid even while they were at their homes. This lifestyle and the addition of warfare caused them to be in circumstances which were not ideal for finding safety. Food and water was not the only worry. The lack of security of the people is a major problem. Rebels easily could wipe out the entire village if they wanted to, as they did. This lack of security and self defenselessness is a good reason why the UN should step in. They can secure these people in refugee camps and help protect them until they can sort out their lives. The intervention of the UN, would allow there to be more of a communication between the groups of the rebels and the SPLA to possible sort out conflict.

Appiah believes that in order to have better cross-cultural communication, there has to be a better understanding of the “stranger.” The stranger is