ABSTRACT
The idea of a cosmopolitan public sphere may seem both self-evident and paradoxical, depending which layers of the concept are tapped into first. Self-evident if we are taken by the implicit normative potential of a public sphere, understood as the dialogical space in which “the forceless force of the better argument” (Habermas) alone is to hold sway. If an idealized conception of rational discourse is made the core of our understanding of public social communication, the boundaries must indeed seem endless. Given that here all are engaged in a counterfactually presupposed power-free enterprise—one destined toward finding the best solution to an issue, or the best articulation of relevant needs and interests—everyone capable of meaningful participation seems legitimately entitled to be heard and taken into account. Given, furthermore, that we find ourselves within an ongoing state of globalization which affects about every essential sphere of social life, a normatively acceptable public sphere must indeed appear to be cosmopolitan. It seems to imply a world public (Weltöffentlichkeit) or global citizenship that articulates its self-understanding by means of an all-inclusive transnational dialogue.
