Ethics of Globalization; Exploring a Universal Ethics

Modern societies are no longer isolated and self-sufficient; they have to rely on constant interchange with others who are sometimes radically different. Globalization is a process by which we are permanently confronted with moral choices and the need to reconcile contradictory requirements. Within the framework of several ethical theories and considering that ethical principles are universal, where do the ethics of globalization stand and what are the distinguishing features of global ethics when compared with individual ethics and national ethics? Is it possible to reconcile a universal ethical theory with the dominant economic theory based on utilitarianism and the maximization of the utility function? Is it necessary to substitute the utility function with another that includes new ethical principles? Or is it possible to change the utility function in such a way that it reflects an ethics based on virtue, duties and affections instead of the utilitarian ethic? Or does a new ethic of globalization imply a new economy and a new economic theory? Is it a utopian ethic, or, on the contrary, the Ethic of the Future? How to humanize the global market?

In this paper an attempt been made to analyze and understand the ethics of globalization within the framework of a universal ethics.