One World
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The Ethics of Globalization, Second Edition
Peter Singer; With a new preface by the author
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One of the world’s most influential philosophers here considers the ethical issues surrounding globalization. Peter Singer discusses climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid, showing how a global ethic rather than a nationalistic approach can provide illuminating answers to important problems.
The book encompasses four main global issues: climate change, the role of the World Trade Organization, human rights and humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid. Singer addresses each vital issue from an ethical perspective and offers alternatives to the state-centric approach that characterizes international theory and relations today. Posing a bold challenge to narrow or nationalistic views, Singer presents a realistic, new way of looking at contemporary global issues—through a prism of ethics.
Peter Singer is Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University.
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"With One World, Professor Singer has written an informed, provocative book that should open up our eyes to the ethical problems of globalization. His clear and elegant style makes the work accessible to philosophers and students alike. One student commented to me that this was 'the best book she read in college.'"—Lisa M. Cassidy, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Ramapo College
"Many people have written about the economic meaning of globalization; in One World Peter Singer explains its moral meaning. His position is carefully developed, his tone is moderate, but his conclusions are radical and profound. No political theorist or moral philosopher, no public official or political activist, can afford to ignore his arguments."—Michael Walzer
"Few issues are more critically in need of ethical assessment than globalization. When a leading ethicist like Singer addresses globalization, we all should listen very carefully."—Paul R. Ehrlich, Bing Professor of Population Studies; President, Center for Conservation Biology; Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford University, author of Human Natures: Genes, Cultures, and the Human Prospect, coauthor of Wild Solutions
"One World isvaluable reading for anyone interested in seeing whether globalization can be made to work for the benefit of many."—Philip Seib, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"Singer has brought to the issue of globalization a lot of insight, powerful analysis and prescription, often cogently expressed and reflective of his erudition, which is clearly both broad and deep."—Strobe Talbott, director, Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
"In just over 200 pages, Singer, now based at Princeton University in the U.S., delivers a mind-punching summary of the central dilemmas of living in an increasingly global society. With clarity and intellectual rigour, he examines the implications of a globalized economy, the role of the World Trade Organization, the need for universal standards of justice and democracy and how they might be applied, threats to the environment, and how we might make the world a better place for the billions who live in absolute poverty. His practical suggestions are often confronting, but are invariably derived from pristine logic, and are delivered with wit and passion. Given that the ‘one world’ of his title is irrevocably upon us, this is an indispensable book for the thinking reader in a post-September 11 world: challenging, fascinating, and ultimately empowering."—Andrew Wilkins, Australian Bookseller & Publisher
"Philosopher Peter Singer holds a mirror to the policies of the wealthiest nation-state—the United States—and the reflection is not flattering. He challenges us as a nation and as individuals on the issues of the environment, global economies, human rights, and foreign aid. In this morally compelling work, Singer calls for a new ethic that will serve the interests of all who live on the planet. Singer’s erudition is accessible, his thesis persuasive. How well we come through the era of globalization—and, perhaps, whether we come through it at all—says Singer, will depend on how we respond ethically to the idea that we live in one world."—Sydney Horton, Audubon
"Philosopher Peter Singer holds a mirror to the policies of the wealthiest nation-state—the United States—and the reflection is not flattering. He challenges us as a nation and as individuals on the issues of the environment, global economies, human rights, and foreign aid. In this morally compelling work, Singer calls for a new ethic that will serve the interests of all who live on the planet. Singer’s erudition is accessible, his thesis persuasive. How well we come through the era of globalization—and, perhaps, whether we come through it at all—says Singer, will depend on how we respond ethically to the idea that we live in one world."—Sydney Horton, Audubon
"Fasten your seat belts—this book is not for the faint of heart. . . . Singer’s erudition is accessible, his thesis persuasive."—Sydney Horton, Audubon
"[Singer] is in the tradition of the good humanist thinkers who challenge the conventional wisdom, as Socrates would want any philosopher and scholar to do."—Tor Hundddloe, Courier-Mail
"[Singer’s arguments] deserve to be heard not only by philosophers and others trying to make sense out of globalization, but also by a wider popular audience, for whom the text ought to be accessible. Singer, as usual, avoids excessive reliance upon academic jargon, and carefully documents the economic and political background of the issues he examines."—Steve Vanderheiden, Environmental Ethics
"Singer’s arguments are direct, honest, and forceful. The book presents excellent overviews of technical issues central to current debates (such as the product/process distinction in the Life rules, and the legality of humanitarian intervention within the UN Charter), as well as philosophical reflections on a wide range of global trends. It is the most useful survey in print of the moral dimensions of globalization."—Lief Wenar, Ethics & International Affairs
"Famed bioethicist Singer argues that the dangers and inequalities generated by globalization demand that we rethink the privileged rights of state sovereignty and devise new ethical principles of international conduct. In his view, the search for widely acceptable principles of global fairness is not simply an intellectual exercise but an imperative that even rich and powerful countries ignore at their peril. . . . Singer then looks for practical ethical principles in the thorny areas of global warming, trade, humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid. His willingness to delve into the prosaic details of agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol on global warming and the World Trade Organization is one of the book’s biggest strengths."—John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs
"For readers in search of a different approach to globalization’s typical themes, One World makes an interesting, thought-provoking read."—Meg Kinnard, National Journal
"Timely and thoughtful. . . . A refreshing intellectual integrity in Singer’s efforts to assess the facts on the ground."—Andrés Martinez, New York Times Book Review
"Peter Singer may be the most controversial philosopher alive; he is certainly among the most influential."—New Yorker
"[One World reflects Singer’s] characteristically effortless prose and gift for making important and difficult ideas accessible to non-specialists. . . . Singer does an exemplary job of presenting a strong utilitarian position on central ethical concerns of globalization. . . . In so doing, he provides a wealth of analysis and insightful suggestions on global political reform. . . . One World’s fresh ethical analyses of crucial global issues should make it required reading for most any intellectual today."—Julian Friedland, The American Philosophical Association Newsletter
"The book is a thoughtful complement to economic and political analyses . . . and a useful introduction to the problems and possibilities of globalization in its own right."—Maurice Meilleur, The Antioch Review
"Exceptionally readable. . . . The questions Singer raises here and the policy arenas he applies them to—climate change, trade, humanitarian intervention, and foreign aid—are the very ones occupying what one hopes is increasingly thoughtful attention, by both citizens and political leaders in this country and beyond. . . . This consideration of the ethical dimensions of governance in a global context offers both laics and policymakers the information and the tools of inquiry needed to enter more fully into our roles as citizens of the one world we share."—Patti H. Clayton, The Quarterly Review of Biology
". . . Singer makes an important contribution to the development of a planetary consciousness so needed in these times."—Tikkun
"With this book, Singer makes an important contribution to the development of a planetary consciousness so needed in these times."—Tikkun
"Singer argues not for the wild global redistribution schemes suggested by his previous writings but for big increases in foreign aid and the lowering of Western trade barriers so that developing world nations can expand their economies by selling to well-off nations which can afford to buy. Both are excellent ideas—and hint that this is an ethicist who may be learning to think through the practical consequences of his ethics."—Gregg Easterbrook, Washington Monthly
"This thought provoking book should stimulate debate about how to ameliorate the problems caused by globalization."—Wildlife Activist
"Peter Singer writes, as always, lucidly and with relentless logic. Getting states to behave ethically is a heroic aspiration, but this book will give even the most obdurate realist much to think about."—Gareth Evans, President, International Crisis Group, former Australian Foreign Minister
Selected as an outstanding book by University Press Books for Public and Secondary School Libraries
ISBN: 9780300103052
Publication Date: March 11, 2004
Publication Date: March 11, 2004
272 pages, 5 x 7 3/4
