A New Era of Cosmopolitan Collaboration

Welcome to New York City, where you’ll see the grandeur of Times Square and the glittering skyscrapers of Manhattan! Take some time to shop at the high-end stores in Soho and visit some upscale apartments in Greenwich Village. If you’re lucky, you’ll get a chance to see some Wall Street moguls or some millionaires in the fashion and food industry. Oh — but ignore the homeless people, minimum wage workers, and struggling immigrants roaming the streets. They’re always there.

This is the unfortunate reality of living in a large, industrialized city: we have grown accustomed to seeing the thousands of homeless people and beggars living on the streets, while professionals stroll past them as they head to their multi-million dollar homes. Even more discomforting, this “eyesore” of NYC is the norm for many other cities around the world; from LA, California, to Mumbai, India, to Manila, Philippines, metropolises are only expanding as the division between the rich and poor continues to grow worldwide. Global growth is projected to rise yearly, yet we continue to neglect the ever-increasing individuals and communities in extreme poverty and unbearable living conditions. This raises the question of whether local success truly translates into global progression and whether national governments can continue properly taking care of its citizens. Though some may argue that identifying with a local or national community fosters regional prosperity and success, the concept of global citizenship allows mankind to create large scale, global change as we look beyond our own individual successes and extend our collaborative efforts to helping the greater good.

If we look at our world from space, we see how unified we are with no lines, divisions, walls, or borders — we are all interconnected as citizens of the world. The only boundaries we have are how we see ourselves and how we have learned to pit region against region. Unfortunately, we have learned to identify ourselves based on where we are born, or to what nation we call ourselves a citizen of. National governments operate to look out for national interests, and rightly so, to some extent. But what happens when the welfare of local communities comes into conflict with the wellbeing of the greater good? Who is to look out for the interests of the global commons that may be harmed when each government pursues its own narrow interests? We can strive to be national citizens and attempt to eradicate issues like homelessness in our local communities, but this will not automatically translate into bettering the lives of the other 7.6 billion citizens of the world.

Here in America, we live in a capitalistic society that heavily emphasizes wealth and success, many times at the expense of others. We dedicate our entire lives to gaining the financial resources necessary to live a comfortable life, but we fail to remember that living in America, a first world country, has given us an enormous advantage to those living in countries that may be suffering from poverty, hunger, and injustices — issues that don’t burden us as much. A 2019 study reviewed by Dr. Henrique Schneider, professor of economics at Nordakademie University, revealed that the poorest 20 percent of Americans consume more goods and services than the national averages for all people in most affluent countries (Agresti). In other words, if the poorest 20 percent of Americans were a nation, it would be one of the world’s richest. Here, we must consider our country’s status in comparison to the rest of the world and reconsider how little we are doing to truly promote global prosperity. If we look at other nations, half of the world’s 736 million extreme poor live in just 5 countries (Katamaya). This shows how despite having one of the most affluent and well off societies in the world, our nation’s regional success does not automatically transcend to other nations. We must redirect our resources and capabilities to assisting the greater good rather than stay in our local bubbles to help those only in our immediate vicinities.

Citizenship is no longer just a status of being from a particular country or place; it is the responsibility handed to us to influence and promote social well being for all other citizens. Similarly, a community is no longer defined by borders and labels, but rather by the commonalities we share. Where we are born can no longer dictate what we label ourselves as, or to what we owe our allegiance to. Ultimately, it is our interconnected coexistence and shared human existence that renders us all as global citizens. Therefore, we must maintain a global mindset if we are to truly accelerate universal success and welfare. Looking back at America, it is clear that the prosperity of New York City was influenced by generations of immigrants and hard-working individuals that considered themselves citizens of the world rather than citizens to their own nation. Human mobility is instrumental in encouraging innovation and advancements, and when we limit human mobility (physically or mentally), we’re restricting the use of one of the most important social growth tools we have.

While some may say that being a global citizen is impractical and leads to a disconnect with one’s own community, global citizenship is more effective at creating substantive change as it allows politicians and policymakers from around the world to collaborate on international solutions for climate change, poverty, human rights, and a multitude of other universal issues. Similarly, identifying as a global citizen doesn’t mean we can’t take pride in our nationalities, ethnicities, or cultures — nor does it mean we neglect the needs of our local communities. In fact, a global mindset fosters healthy competition and collaboration in addition to evoking cultural empathy and awareness.

As our world begins to recognize the advantages of having an interconnected society, we have looked past the limitations of our local and national boundaries. We can no longer isolate ourselves and our nations from one another, nor can we continue believing that solving one issue at our doorsteps automatically solves the entirety of the same issue globally. The whole world is our responsibility, and global citizenship allows us to move forward with international prosperity and activism in mind. It is this very global activism that will give us the momentum to accelerate large scale positive change around the world. We have finally moved away from the false dichotomies of parochialism and entered a new era of cosmopolitan collaboration and it is only a matter of how willing we are to accept this new global mentality that will truly determine our individual success.

Work Cited:

Agresti, James D. “The Poorest 20% of Americans Are Richer on Average Than Most Nations of Europe.” Just Facts, 26 Aug. 2019, www.justfacts.com/news_poorest_americans_richer_than_europe.

Katayama, Roy. “Half of the World’s Poor Live in Just 5 Countries.” World Bank Blogs, 2019, blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/half-world-s-poor-live-just-5-countries.