	"Be the change you want to see in the World" Worldwide Government - An idea coming of age? One Printable Page

Global systems demand global governance.

The United Nations is not a World Government. In fact the UN was a defense against world government, sold to us in a time when the whole idea of a World Government was impossible to contemplate. The present UN is made powerless whenever any of the 5 permanent members of the Security Council choose to use the veto. That happens far too often. An "Open Future©" demands a better system of decision making at the global level.

We've discovered that we really do need World Government. A collection of national governments cannot deliver a world in which we can all expect to live normal lives. I do understand that the politicians in the most powerful countries of the world strongly oppose the idea of World Government. That doesn't make the idea wrong. The survival of a civilized, globalized world, requires appropriate global governance.

A system where the elected leaders of a nation, elected for their domestic political role should, by default also be your representatives in International forums, isn't very sensible. The ancient principle of the divine right if Kings, still underlies the organisation of the United Nations. There is no basis for democtatic representation.

Dr.Carl Sagan and the Pale Blue Dot

The Pale Blue Dot is a photograph of planet Earth taken in 1990 by Voyager 1 from a record distance, showing it against the vastness of space. By request of Carl Sagan, NASA commanded the Voyager 1 spacecraft, having completed its primary mission and now leaving the solar system, to turn its camera around and to take a photograph of Earth.

"The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds."

Carl Sagan, was known for his popularization of science, his efforts to increase scientific understanding among the general public, and his positions in favor of scientific skepticism and against pseudoscience.

Global governance with a democratic basis would require the election of international political representatives. We will need to recognize nation states, but ideally we can soften the nationalism than might imply. If the representation is sound, there is a strong prospect for the organization delivering International Law that will be respected. We can't even select representatives inside nation states that fairly represent the population, so this is a tall order. A world government dominated by one or two states isn't acceptable either. Decision making by the World Government must be seen to be authoritative, and so the process must be open and fair. The prospect of enforcing that law against nation states isn't one that I like, but it's a necessary process.

There are hundreds of areas where World Government is essential. I will briefly mention three.

Population Control: China has to it's credit, adopted a one child policy. That's been very costly at a personal level. In recent earthquakes, for instance, schools were destroyed and families lost their only child. But for China as a whole, the one child policy has allowed economic development to take a new direction. If we're going to eliminate poverty, the population of the world can't be permitted to rise to 9 billion.

Income Inequality: Two things need to be said here. Firstly, economists don't measure wealth very well. People who have no cash income might still be quite wealthy in other ways. There is real discrimination against the poor who are exploited because the system allows that to happen. In rich societies the economy should ensure a just social income for everyone, and that will involve some form of wealth redistribution. There also needs to be a process that lifts poorer countries out of poverty. Fair trade, rather than aid is desirable, but we might also pay for maintenance of tropical forests, or for the protection of water resources. Fair trade requires a system of fair trading rules; governance is essential.

The Rights of Women: In a world that's rapidly changing, it's essential that families are places where education is respected and encouraged and where children have every chance of learning good language skills and develop an outgoing interest in the world about them. That's so much easier if young women are themselves educated and have independence and full rights to participate as adult members of the community. If poverty is to be overcome, if families are to be smaller, if people are going to have democratic rights, if there is to be freedom of information, we can't allow women to be treated as second class citizens.

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Worldwide Government - An idea coming of age?

Global systems demand global governance.