Cosmopolitan New Natural Law: Discerning Virtue and Responsibilities in Global Economic Governance

Abstract

This chapter argues that new natural law theory largely neglects the task of coming to terms with the legitimacy of global economic governance schemes. Such schemes call into question traditional ways of thinking about virtues and responsibilities of economic actors on the world stage. Accordingly, I draw upon key concepts of new natural law to posit a normative justificatory foundation for soft law in the global context grounded in a noninstrumental regulative conception of rule of law, human rights, and the global common good. It is argued that, when understood as a legitimating force behind emergent soft law standards of corporate social responsibility, respect for international rule of law enables persons and companies to become virtuous, helping us understand what it means for a business person or a company to be virtuous in a globalization context.