| I argue for a cosmopolitan approach to distributive justice that sees political arrangements and boundaries as only instrumental to the well-being of individuals. Beginning with equal consideration for all individuals should lead us to question the current global system, where birthplace plays a strong role in determining life chances. We should acknowledge an obligation to transform the system into one in which all individuals will have resources and opportunities sufficient to form and pursue a robust life plan. In the near term, we should support further economic and political integration among states and demand that it proceed in a more democratically accountable manner, as well as with respect for fundamental human rights. For the longer term, we should advocate the creation of a much more integrated global system, where polities are broader and many more persons' interests are viewed as appropriately protected and promoted in common. The full institutional prescription would be a federal democratic world government, where states are embedded in regional organizations broadly similar to the European Union, and regional organizations are embedded in the global body. To address important concerns about democratic representation and a possible concentration of power at the top, I argue for strong observance of a principle of subsidiarity in such a transformed system, where policy is set at the lowest appropriate level. In addition, individuals should have the ability to formally challenge the rules and actions of governing bodies at various levels, as they increasingly do in the European Union. Finally, even if a full global government is not achievable, it is important that we consider its defensibility as a comprehensive system of institutions, both to critique current institutions and to inform our understanding of duties concerning institutional reform. Democratically accountable integration, even on a much more limited scale than the global, promises significant improvement in the life chances of millions of persons. |
