Thursday, November 17, 2016

Planetary, International, Global, Cosmos

'Planetary' is being used here, rather than apparent synonyms, 'International', or 'Global', because the latter two are inadequate for the purpose.  'International' presupposes 'National', thereby preempting the possibility that the latter is derived from the former.  'Global' avoids that possibility, but its current exclusive association with Capitalism--ironic, given that Smith's doctrine is fundamently Nationalistic, while Marxism transcends such limitations--can easily confuse.  'Cosmopolity' also has some contemporary connative baggage, e. g. a magazine, that only mildly distorts Kant's use of 'Cosmopolitan'.  It is also only slightly misleading, because 'cosmos' means 'world' in a logical, not in a geographical or astronomical, sense.  Still, Cosmopolity is unencumbered enough to adequately signify a potential future Planet-encompassing political unity, into which the United Nations might develop.

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