Global Ethics: The World as One

Global Ethics explores the Moral obligations that transcend national borders, focusing on "Humanity" as the primary unit of concern.

1. Global Ethics: The World as One

Cue Words	Notes
Definition of Global Ethics	- Field of moral philosophy examining moral duties transcending national borders, viewing shared humanity as primary moral unit
Cosmopolitanism vs Communitarianism	- Cosmopolitanism (Kant/Singer): all human beings belong to a single global moral community with universal rights - Communitarianism (Walzer): primary moral duties belong strictly to one's own national community and citizens first
Key Global Ethical Challenges	- North-South Wealth Inequality: systemic economic exploitation of Global South resources by developed economies - Moral Double Standards: powerful states selectively enforcing human rights and democracy based on strategic self-interest - Global Resource Externalities: disproportionate resource consumption by wealthy nations leaving ecological debt for poor states
Global Moral Agents	- Multilateral Bodies & International NGOs: UN agencies, ICRC, Amnesty International upholding universal humanitarian rights
High-Yield Data & Exemplars	- India's Vaccine Maitri (7.2 Crore doses to 95+ nations) & Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) - UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities)
Key Ethical Frameworks in IR	- Rawls' *The Law of Peoples* (1999): extension of the theory of justice to relations between "peoples," proposing a duty of assistance to burdened societies - Amartya Sen's Capability Approach: evaluating global justice by the real freedoms and capabilities people have, not just resource transfers or income - Responsibility to Protect (R2P): international norm holding that sovereignty entails a responsibility to prevent mass atrocities against one's own population
Conclusion	- Success lies in moving from narrow national egoism to **"Humanity-Saturated and Equity-Verified Global Solidarity"**