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Facing the various current phenomena of crisis, many people have come to think that politics, including decisions with regard to economy, needs to be based upon morality. Significantly, this opinion implies some kind of separation: As the cultivation of a moral attitude is considered a prerequisite for sound politics, morality itself is assumed to be independent from politics. The intention of the chapter is to challenge this assumption. The first part explains, referring to Kant, that the moral demand to respect everybody as a "person" implies that we must consider the uniqueness of the individual. On this basis it is argued, firstly, that we cannot adequately answer the needs of others unless we learn to listen carefully to the ways in which individual perspectives are being expressed; secondly, that the diversity of individual experiences and expectations cannot be properly voiced unless there exists a legal framework that secures freedom of expression. Consequently, the point is that liberal politics constitutes a prerequisite for a comprehensive implementation of moral guidelines. Explaining this thesis, the chapter refers to contemporary conceptions of "world citizenship" and "global democracy".

DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-6895-6_9

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