ABSTRACT
Cosmopolitanism is radical in the most common, political-ideological sense when it pushes the principle of world citizenship to extremes, setting this principle against the status quo. Cosmopolitanism is radical in the etymological sense when it goes to the root, core, or essence of the idea. In this chapter, I will argue that the best candidate for a radical cosmopolitanism in both senses is a tradition of revolutionary politics that first emerged in modern Europe but quickly moved beyond it. I make no claim to an exhaustive treatment of the subject. Many other forms of cosmopolitanism can claim to be radical, from artistic practices to ways of life to ethical theories or comportments. But none can lay as strong a claim to radicalness as this particular form of politics, which combines a desire to transform the social-political order with a return to the root of an idea whose origins were political.
