Those Who Wander Open Debate #5

Is Cosmopolitanism Dying?

Photo by 愚木混株 cdd20 on Unsplash

Greetings fellow wanderers,

In August 2024, I introduced a new feature at Those Who Wander—a Those Who Wander Open Debate. To reiterate, in place of a usual weekly post, I’m posting a monthly debate question, focused on various travel and adventure topics.

The format is simple. I will post a question for debate and pose a prompt about the question. There will then be a poll and an opportunity to leave a comment to expand on your answer. Please feel free to respond at any length you like. If you have any research you’ve come across on the topic, I would love for you to share it with us here.

I will also repost the stats from the previous month’s poll. Last month, I asked ‘Is being ‘well-traveled’ mostly about status? ‘ with 38% saying ‘Yes’, 44% saying ‘No’, and 19% answering ‘Unsure.’ Thank you to everyone who participated and shared your thoughts!

Now onto today’s question and prompt:

Many of us follow current events religiously. Every morning, I predictably open the New York Times newsletter in my inbox and then pivot to a few social media apps to feel the firehouse of information tempting to overwhelm me. We feel the urge to follow the latest events ritually because we want to be informed. Yet, no matter where we decide to look, we are reminded daily that we are divided–perhaps more than we’ve been in decades. So many threads of intellectual and common thought perpetually circle the ideas of tribalism, factionalism, and ultimately, the splintering and fragmentation of the world around us. The overarching theme around the globe feels…grim to say the least.

My hope for our world is challenged daily. I want to believe enough of us share in the sentiment of wanting to unify and bridge our differences rather than retreat and isolate from one another. But doom and gloom are what largely dominate our media landscape and we are none the wiser. However, when I travel or read about the travels of others, a very different perspective emerges—one that consoles me and gives me hope that a shared vision of humanity and the concept of cosmopolitanism are alive and well after all. I suspect the vision of our world that travel offers is far closer to the truth of our reality than the narrow world we’re presented with online. But then I reread the news and wonder if that is an illusion I keep teetering back to–a kind of seesaw of viewing the world from which I cannot step off to evaluate what is actually true.

What is cosmopolitanism? In general, it’s the idea that we are of a single human origin, and despite differences, we share a universal set of similarities and can, no, should, become a single worldly community devoted to understanding the complexities of our lives and societies together for the sake of long-term peace, cooperation, and the phasing out of our collective suffering and prejudices. I rarely come across the term anymore and am unsure when it began to fade out of popular discourse. In hindsight, cosmopolitanism is looking more like a fading trend as it appears to have been a more celebrated idea toward the middle of the 20^th century than it is today. As I reflected a few weeks ago on my post about Rick Steves and his enthusiasm for travel to transform us,

[T]he powerful message that was central to the Peace Corps–established by John F. Kennedy in 1961—was that a global citizenry and more peaceful world could only ever hope to be achieved if significant numbers of well-to-do nations and people remained connected, not just on economic terms, but also were devoted to interacting and engaging with one another socially, culturally, and spiritually.

Throughout the late 20th and into the 21st century, criticism of cosmopolitanism has largely come from nationalists and anti-globalization advocates who fear it undermines a country’s economic independence and national interest in securing and protecting a state’s sovereignty. I’ve never fully understood this zero-sum thinking. To my mind, one can take some pride in one’s country of origin and prioritize national security all the while recognizing there is much to gain from being connected to other areas of the world and encouraging its citizens to travel to and see the benefits and lessons other countries have to offer. Spending time in other countries isn’t some act of betrayal but rather usually ends up with the result of coming home to find we’ve learned something valuable both about another country and our own.

Many generations of social anthropologists have warned that a dominant country like the United States cannot simply be the one imposing its views on everyone else in a unidirectional fashion. As history demonstrates, there is always a back-and-forth exchange that takes place when different cultures clash and they are left with basically two options 1) learn to compromise, cooperate, share, and reciprocate or 2) isolate and fight. As the anthropologist Paul Bohannan once urged,

Americans have been rejected and will be rejected so long as they go out into the world merely as teachers. They must go to learn. There are ideas abroad in the world that Westerners must learn if their society is to continue to exist and if the part of their culture they most value is to be maintained. The counterimpact may be greater than we think.

A retreat from the world comes with real risks and costs, not just a loss of photos of us in exotic destinations or missing out on fancy cuisines. Imagine what it’s like living next to a wealthy neighbor who can’t even muster a friendly wave and smile let alone invite you over for dinner or exchange some simple gifts during the holidays—to take some minimal interest in your life and acknowledge you as their neighbor. You might start to think they are greedy and self-absorbed and begin mistrusting this person because you have little to go on as to who they are and why they seem to be withdrawn and unwilling to form even the most superficial social bond.

We live in populist times with nativism and anti-globalization movements ascendant. American exceptionalism seems to be going strong again. For years I’ve heard the long-standing arguments from people right of center, e.g., that we must guard against foreign ideas to preserve core values, enhance patriotism, secure jobs, and be a self-sufficient economic and military powerhouse. Likewise, I have been hearing arguments from people left of center for some time ( the ones who were once the most vocal proponents of cosmopolitanism) now rejecting it, e.g., that we don’t have the right to venture to other areas of the globe now due to climate concerns, ecological instability, over-tourism, and loss of culture around the world. Perhaps we have the sense that travel is too burdensome and no longer worth it or there is nowhere left to explore so what’s the point of being a cosmopolitan anymore?

I can’t help feeling like cosmopolitanism may be dying and a majority of us presently couldn’t care less about “seeing the world” anymore. I believe this may be due to fewer of us traveling as extensively as we can or should—cosmopolitanism is, after all, often what becomes instilled in us after we’ve taken some breathtaking journeys in it. Thus, if fewer of us are experiencing transformative forms of travel and adventure, it makes sense why fewer of us will see the value in it. That is my hunch anyway.

Simply put, the growing consensus seems to argue that being a “world citizen” is a quaint but ultimately outmoded and naive ideal and that we’d all be better off staying put and appreciating what we have at home. Admittedly, cosmopolitanism is a far deeper topic than I’ve had time to describe and perhaps not adequately framed–thus, I am opening the floor to you, dear readers, to help better inform myself and others. What are your thoughts? Is the idea of being a “world citizen” a now-defunct ideal?

Is cosmopolitanism dying?

Expand on your answer in the comments:

Thanks for being a fellow traveler with me and participating in the discussion. I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Please consider subscribing, sharing, and supporting this project—much more to follow.

Cheers!

-JSB