Abstract

Martha Nussbaum's latest book is a lucid and accessible study of a concept with clear contemporary relevance. In an age of resurgent nationalism, a study of the idea and ideals of cosmopolitanism is remarkably timely. But this is hardly a mere tract for the times; as its acknowledgments note, parts of the book date back to 2000. And ultimately, for all its timeliness, this is a scholarly rather than a popular study of "the long tradition of cosmopolitan political thought" and the ways this tradition can help inform current debates in political philosophy.Nussbaum's book is organized into seven chapters. The first lays out the core idea of the cosmopolitan tradition: the Cynic/Stoic insight "that politics...