The third issue concerns the place of
citizenship in the dynamic relationships
between region, state, and global society in
the modern world. The notion that there
could be a ‘citizen of the world’ has long
been part of the utopian imaginary of the
citizenship tradition. It was implicit in
Augustine’s idea of the City of God within
which the legacy of Roman global society
would be perfected. It was part of Kant’s
vision of a ‘perpetual peace’ in which the
Enlightenment dream of a world free from
irrational prejudice could be realized. It was part of Goethe’s idea of world society that
would transcend the narrow limitations of
emerging German militarism. Despite his
criticisms of bourgeois citizenship, Marx
dreamt of creating an international movement
in which workers would unite to overcome
capitalism, to transform human nature,
and to establish a world polity. In recent
years, this dream has re-emerged in the idea
that globalization will demand or make
possible world governance within which
cosmopolitan democracy can flourish.