Globalization, corporate practice and cosmopolitan social standards

The article explores some of the theoretical and political issues which underpin the current conflict over the accountability of the global economic order. The article develops in five parts, starting with an initial section on the changing nature and form of globalization and ending with an account of how markets and business activities can be reframed. The focus is on the emergence of a number of cosmopolitan social standards which are embedded in human rights regimes and other international legal instruments. These standards are explicated, elaborated and defended. The article argues that these standards need to be clarified further and developed in order to create the basis for global economic accountability and social justice.