Global challenges such as poverty, climate change, and economic crises are all problems that the global community must face collectively. But in order to do so successfully, we need to engage in a continued intercultural dialogue on alternative approaches to development that are ethically justifiable, politically acceptable, and ecologically sustainable. To this end, the Institute for Social and Development Studies at the Munich School of Philosophy in cooperation with MISEREOR, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation, invited scholars from across the world to define and explore an overarching goal: the global common good. This book represents the product of their efforts; in it, contributors investigate normative ideals, analyze obstacles that prevent the realization of these ideals, and propose paths for global transformation.

Michael Reder holds the chair in practical philosophy at the Munich School of Philosophy, where Verena Risse and Katharina Hirschbrunn are research associates in the Institute for Social and Development Studies. Georg Stoll is a senior advisor in the Department of Policy and Global Challenges at MISEREOR, the German Catholic Bishops’ Organization for Development Cooperation.