ABSTRACT
In his 1991 State of the Union speech, US President George Bush announced a 'big idea', a 'new world order' which had as its ambition 'to achieve the universal aspirations of mankind', or at least American perception of mankind. The idea of a 'new world order' inheres both the potential for the renaissance of humanism and the potential for its further annihilation. According to the founding director-general of the World Trade Organisation, the 'new world order' was finally given birth in December 1993. According to Pierre Bourdieu, neoliberal globalization is merely a 'very smart and very modern repackaging of the oldest ideas of the oldest capitalists'. One of the most common defences of globalization is that it democratizes communities, regardless of the extent of their internal constitutional structures. The fate of humanity is tied to the various ideas of cosmopolitan ethics and global governance, the ability to give voice to a global citizenry that will be morally aware and responsible.
