Absolutely Essential: Bioethics and the Rules-Based International Order

What the end of the post-World War II global political system means for bioethics and beyond.

In Absolutely Essential, Jonathan Moreno explores the field of bioethics as both a creature and a key element of the post-World War II rules-based order. According to this order, international relations are to be organized according to principles of open markets, liberal democracy, and multilateral organizations.

Drawing on the author’s four decades of experience in the field, the book raises key questions about the future of bioethics in a changed world order, while also theorizing new ways to think about bioethics after the COVID-19 pandemic and the reordering of global alliances. For bioethicists, this book will contextualize the field in an entirely new light, while readers unfamiliar with bioethics will appreciate that this seemingly esoteric field is in fact a paradigmatic creation of the global system now undergoing sweeping change.

Jonathan D. Moreno is the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as a staff member or adviser to many governmental and non-governmental organizations, including three U.S. presidential commissions, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee. He is a recipient of The American Society of Bioethics and Humanities Lifetime Achievement Award.