traveler is not to be turned away from temporary resort in a foreign land, if turning him away
would cause his destruction. All persons have an original right to travel the Earth and to attempt
to establish community with others. In presenting themselves to a society for possible commerce,
they must not be treated with hostility. At the same time, this limited right of hospitality does not
entail a right to be treated as an honored guest, which would require a special pact. Waldron tells
us that there is no objection to migration as such, or to settlement that is far enough away from
anyone's use of the land. But in cases where land is already inhabited (which it is in most cases),
settlement cannot take place by force or fraud, but only by contract.
Kant also rejects the Lockean
view that ownership requires cultivation and that hunting and pastoral activities do not count as a
Waldron accurately describes the specifics of what Kant himself states. However,
Waldron says he wants to begin his discussion of cosmopolitan right by putting aside these
particular judgments made by Kant. Instead, he wants to view the principles of cosmopolitan
right as more schematic, as "an attempt to express the spirit in which Kant thinks these issues of
cosmopolitan right should be approached."
Waldron says that Kant used the term
‘cosmopolitan’ not to describe a particular thesis about how the world should be organized;
rather, he says the category of cosmopolitan right is a juridical category in which we may analyze
certain issues. Waldron is not interested in Kant’s specific theses in cosmopolitan right. He is
interested in the presuppositions of the category itself, and developing his own theses in
cosmopolitan right that hold to the Kantian spirit. Waldron claims that it is important that Kant's
maintained the right to visit, despite the potential for abuse by Europeans who might overstay
their welcome. He says that this confirms the friendly attitude that Kant had towards cultural
intercourse and contact, and how Kant did not value cultural purity and integrity.
9
Waldron, "Kant's Heading 'Cosmopolitan Right',” p. 3. See §62 and §15 of The Metaphysics of Morals. For the ease
of the reader, I have included an appendix to this paper with an old translation of §62. (It is not one of the translations
quoted or used in this paper.) I will cite Kant’s The Metaphysics of Morals by noting the volume and page number of
the Academy edition of Kant’s works, followed by the letters “MM”, then followed by the section number or heading
where appropriate, and then by the either the Gregor or Reiss pagination. See footnote 1 above.
10
Waldron, "Kant's Heading 'Cosmopolitan Right',” p. 3.
4
Convention