S., when it's clear to any objective bystander that Republicans are the party of big business and corporations. Many claim that those economically disadvantage folk who vote Republican are voting against their own self-interests, opting to elect officials who will lobby against collective bargaining and union benefits. Nevertheless, and despite overwhelming evidence to support that theory, poor people, working class people continue to vote Republican. The reasons for this phenomenon is that liberal/democratic agenda has certain blind spots when it comes to recognizing the needs of real, working class people. The liberal agenda, the democratic agenda, is a "We know what's best for you" agenda. And many individuals recognize this and rebel against it, even if it's at their own peril. Likewise, supporters of cosmopolitanism carry an air of "we know what's best for you" type attitude. This is destructive because, as with liberalism, it appears haughty to those who could actually benefit from global harmony and intervention.

So, to recap three major points discussed in Calhoun's article: (a) cosmopolitanism benefits the dominant (not exclusively) (b) cosmopolitanism is often supported by people who have their own particular political, social, and cultural sensibilities (c) it carries with it a "we know what's best for you" type attitude that can be unattractive to would-be converts.

Discussion question #1

Will the world...

One can argue that the television, for example, has become ubiquitous around the world. Yet, the more universal stations (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) do not have the ratings they once had. In fact, the media landscape is more fractured than ever before. There was a time when there were only 3 channels, now there's 3000. The point is, the more technologically advance and interconnected a society becomes the more time people have to pursue individualistic goals and interests.
Discussion question #1

Calhoun briefly touched on the effect money markets have on cosmopolitanism. But one is curious to know how the recent economic collapse has affected those who seek some sort of global unification?

Obviously the European experiment with the Euro has backfired. Greece, Ireland, Spain are on facing bankruptcy and lack the capacity to print money. If the world were to become more monetarily co-dependent, would this affect their ability to rebound from economic recessions? This questions and more should be addressed in more explicit detail if one is to truly embrace a cosmopolitan framework.