“Cosmopolitan” as a Conservative Cuss
I was startled today to learn that the word “cosmopolitan” is a pejorative in conservative lexicons. To me, it’s always meant that someone is interesting enough to have lunch with. I first came across the phenomenon in an article referencing the far-right Prime Minister of Hungary and his attacks on his enemy, the cosmopolitan George Soros. Within hours, I heard it coming from the mouth of Trump Policy Advisor, Stephen Miller. During the press conference announcing Trump’s bid to slash legal immigration levels, he shut a reporter down by accusing him of  “cosmopolitan bias.”
A bit of research revealed that Stalin used the dog-whistle, “rootless cosmopolitan” to slander Jewish intellectuals critical of his policies. So, this “insult” is not so new, but it seems to be gaining new currency.
The word literally means “citizen of the world,” but it is associated with people who live in big cities. It’s in cities that all kinds of global citizens are thrown together and have to learn how to share a sidewalk. Tolerance arose in cities out of economic necessity. People who took their goods to market had to contend with different languages, religions, fabrics, snacks, and beats. Mix, match, add time and, voilà ! New languages, arts, and cuisines were born, as were new children—rainbow blends of diverse parents. Cosmopolitan Blend: bold, tasty, and not so pale.
Cities are where universities are built, where artists and intellectuals talk over too much coffee and develop new philosophies and political movements. That’s what makes the cosmopolis dangerous to conservative politicians. I’m not the first to note that “Make America Great Again” is code for a return to a time when racial hierarchies were legal, when people of different backgrounds didn’t have to mix socially or professionally. These barriers have always been more permeable in cities. Cosmopolitans, on the whole, vote more liberal. The majority of London voters did not support Brexit; the majority of Torontonians voted against Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party; the 2016 American election followed a similar rural-urban divide.
Quoted in the Atlantic Jonathan Rodden, professor of political science at Stanford, said, “The people who benefit from globalization and trade live in cosmopolitan city centers, and the people who feel left behind typically live outside the city centers. … I would anticipate a growing urban-rural cleavage based on that.”
Conservative politicians have long exploited this divide by perpetuating myths of the wholesome rural life, contrasting it with the supposed moral cesspool of the city. Leaders like Donald Trump need xenophobia and fear of violence to galvanize their base. They know it’s much harder to demonize people of colour, people who speak a different language, people who go to worship on a different day when they are your neighbours and colleagues.
Thus, “cosmopolitan” joins “liberal,” “social justice,” “socialism,” “welfare,” and other aspirational words as a bitter taste in the mouths of conservatives. Here in the city, me and mine watch them stamp and spit as we drink our hot cups of tasty Cosmopolitan Blend.
