In Time,or Too Late,for Kant? Kant-Derived Cosmopolitan Theory Beyond Post-Colonial Critique

Abstract

Is the Kantian inheritance in cosmopolitan thought still viable for social theory, or is it hopelessly outdated because irretrievably flawed, as post-colonial assessments and critics of Kant’s “racism” would argue? This question is explored vis-à-vis Émile Durkheim’s extension of the more “sociological” dimensions in Kant’s cosmopolitanism, ideas also taken up later by Ulrich Beck. Such contributions suggest Kant’s ongoing timeliness. Haunting these relatively optimistic considerations is the possibility of the future extinction of the human species, rendering Kant’s cosmopolitanism as a viewpoint offering possibilities for humanity that may come too late for it.