We live in a complicated world of about 200 countries many of which cannot get on with their neighbors or other countries, resulting in avoidable problems and violence. The population of one country may be as little as 150 thousand people while the population of another country may be close to 1500 million people. The boundary lines of several countries may have no rationality except that it suited the then colonial rulers to draw them up in this way to suit their own interests.
No matter how artificial the current division of the world among various nation states may be, it is widely accepted as a given state of affairs on the basis of which most issues are discussed. However if we are looking for real solutions to several serious problems of the world which have been worsening, it may be helpful to look at several possibilities which are not generally considered in common discussion.
If we are prepared for this, then think for just five minutes—isn’t it the most natural and rational way of looking at our entire world to consider this as just one united world where all people are equal members of the same earth society? Why should there be any division among them or any discrimination among them? They should share the earth and its resources on equal basis and also contribute on an equal basis to the best of their ability to protecting earth and its resource base and basic living conditions for future generations. Such a world would be without any sovereign nation states, and without any wars or any big accumulation of weapons. Of course various people would need administering and planning units to manage their affairs and plan their future, and agreements can emerge regarding the approximate average numbers and areas of various rural and urban units, keeping governance as decentralized and democratic as possible, on the basis of equal basic rights, duties and entitlements of all people, accepting that they are all equal members of earth society but contribute in different ways according to their different abilities and skills.
This is the philosophical part of the concept of one equality based world. The practical discussion starts once we come back to the present realities of a deeply divided world and start considering if we want to go from here to the one equality based world, and to what extent we can go on this path. A related question is regarding the most serious problems of our planet and to what extent moving in this direction will be helpful for resolving these problems. Accumulation of weapons of mass destruction and several serious environmental problems have combined to create nothing less than a full-blown survival crisis. Can moving in this direction be helpful for resolving this crisis?
While several versions of one world concept and world-level governance reform can be considered, the most immediate need and possibility may be for creating an effective world-level institution for taking up responsibility for elimination of weapons of mass destruction, prevention of wars and various other aspects which are essential for checking the survival crisis in time, so that basic life-nurturing conditions of world can be protected. For this people all over the world can vote to elect a world assembly of their representatives which is given the responsibility for taking important decisions on very important issues concerning the survival crisis, elimination of weapons of mass destruction and prevention of wars.
However the concept of world governance institutions needs more careful handling as this has been used in not just in an idealist but also in tyrannical contexts. Leaving aside the tyrannical context entirely, here the reference is to a form of governance which has no conflict with increasing democratic freedoms and increasing decentralization in managing daily affairs. Here the concept of world democratic, justice based institutions is considered mainly in the context of world peace, a future without wars and arms race and involving much higher worldwide cooperation for checking the most serious environmental problems.
For such higher objectives of a peaceful and secure world the concept of democratic, justice-based world-level institutions is clearly very relevant. In fact given the enormity of this challenge, it would be better to suggest various variants of the changes and reforms that can be considered, instead of placing just one version for discussion. A wider discussion can then reveal what can be more practical and doable. Hence various versions are considered in this article.
Of course for day to day governance decentralization is best – the more the better – and so for smooth and people-friendly functioning district councils or village councils or urban councils should have a very important role. However this is only for managing daily affairs better (decentralization is always better than top-heavy centralization) and the basic reality should remain that of one world, in which all people are equal and live without any discrimination as equal citizens of this world, with equal access to certain basic human rights.
To this we should add that Earth is not just for human beings. The concept of one world should therefore include the welfare of all forms of life (and not just human beings).From the point of view of welfare of all forms of life this is obviously a much better way of looking at world, and it is not surprising that several eminent and thoughtful persons have been supporting the idea of one world in one form or the other at various times.
However, more than at any other point in human history, there is now more compelling need for this ideal to be advanced and realized to the extent possible. The reason why this time is so crucial is that in recent times a survival crisis or existential crisis has emerged on our planet.
The serious problems which constitute the survival crisis include nuclear weapons, other weapons of mass destruction including robot or AI weapons and biological weapons, spread of arms race to space and around a dozen serious environmental and safety problems. Most discussion on these dozen or so survival problems takes place in isolation from each other but in the practical world we are more likely to face the combined threat of several of them taken together, increasing the risks further.
The present world leadership and international institutions have miserably failed to find timely and credible solutions for this survival crisis taken as a whole. There are several statements by leading scientists and statesmen testifying to this. In fact some of the problems which constitute the survival crisis have worsened rapidly in the recent past.
Increasingly in my recent writings and books I have been pleading that the greatest importance must now be accorded at world level to resolving the survival crisis within the framework of justice, democracy and peace. While very significant reforms in governance at world level are needed to find and implement solutions which work, these can come only if there is a great resurgence of people’s movements at the grassroots and a yearning for social values in tune with the big challenges ahead. More specifically I have suggested the coming together of the movements of justice (including gender justice), peace, environment protection, democracy and sincere spirituality to make it possible for people to respond adequately to the challenges ahead. It is tough, it is possible.
While the concept of one world has often been discussed before, the special context today is at two levels –
l Firstly, we should link this concept of one world with the special need of our times to resolve the survival crisis.
l Secondly, the concept of one world should co-exist well with increasing decentralization for managing daily affairs, with emphasis on justice and equality.
It is a basic principle of effective governance that it should be in accordance with ability to achieve the most important aims and tasks. In terms of this very basic definition, the huge, colossal failures of existing governance systems in our deeply troubled world facing unprecedented threats have been exposed in more and more glaring and disturbing ways in recent times.
Unprecedented threats demand unprecedented response. So it is time to consider out-of-box governance changes and improvements which can create the kind of world governance systems that are needed for resolving the most critical issues of our times and the near future in a time-bound framework before it is too late.
Let us try to imagine what kind of world governance system we may like to see in the near future. As big changes will take at least a decade to evolve, let us think I terms of what we can achieve in about a decade.
It is the year 2035, or around this time. About 9 billion people live on earth. For the purpose of highly decentralized administration of daily affairs, they are divided among about 1000 provinces each with an average population of around 9 million (this may range between 5 million to 15 million, depending on population density and other factors).
Each of these provinces, apart from electing its local members for highly decentralized governance at levels of province, district and village, also elects a representative for the World Government. The lower house of the World Government is constituted in this way, each of its 1000 elected members being elected by people of one province.
The World Government also has an upper house, consisting of the best available experts on environment, weapons, peace and other issues of critical importance. These experts are elected to the upper house based on a system combining recommendations of professional associations, provincial administrations and lower house representatives.
The lower and upper houses of the World Government elect a Council of Ministers which is coordinated by two leaders who change once every two years or so.
The World Government takes critical decisions on protecting the life-sustaining conditions of planet on issues like the most serious environmental problems and weapons of mass destruction or WMDs. The World Government has the responsibility of preventing any war or civil war, as well as ensuring that no province has any nuclear weapons, or other weapons of mass destruction (including robot weapons). It is responsible for ensuring that no outer space related destructive activity is carried out by any human being or agency.
In fact a province is allowed to keep very few weapons only for policing needs or checking crime, not for war.
However the World Government is allowed to have some stocks of conventional war weapons, and perhaps just about 30 nuclear weapons (with supporting infra-structure) as the World Government has the responsibility of checking any wars and checking the emergence and spread of any big terrorist force. Any disputes relating to provincial borders are settled by the World Government, involving the concerned provincial governments and their neighbors in the settlement of the dispute. No province has its own army, but contributes personnel to one and only one world army. All existing military officers and soldiers ( army, navy, air force– all) have their jobs, salaries, pensions fully protected, but will be trained and employed differently for peace keeping, preventing disasters, protecting environment and rescuing people in disasters.
Another task of the World Government is to ensure that a World Constitution is created to ensure that –
a) all people are equal and there is no discrimination based on class, gender, race, color, caste, ethnicity, previous nationality etc. (although affirmative action for those who suffered extreme historical disadvantages or injustice is allowed),
b) all provinces have to satisfy certain norms of democratic functioning and are governed in highly decentralized way by representatives elected in free and fair elections,
c) people can move freely from one province to another within the limits of some restrictions,
d) all provinces are free to decide their imports and exports, but certain basic qualitative and safety norms have to be agreed by all of them,
e) all provinces have to observe certain norms of justice and equality, human rights and rights of all forms of life,
f) all provinces have to follow certain norms of controlling infectious diseases, without involving any draconian or disruptive steps, observing transparency and evidence-based approach,
g) all provinces have to follow certain norms of protecting other forms of life, such as heavy curbs on hunting and any harming of habitats,
h) jobs and income of all former soldiers of army, para-military forces, air force and navy will be protected by giving them work at the same salaries in peace keeping work, protection from disasters, rescue work, eco-restoration and related works.
i) Issues relating to currency which can be accepted all over the world will be decided by the world government.
Within these broad guidelines, all provinces and districts are completely free to grow in a highly decentralized manner according to their local conditions and creativity.
The world government will rush relief to areas seriously affected by disasters and work for a hunger-free world.
In other words the world government representing all people on equal basis and obtaining the best available advice creates broad conditions of protecting life-sustaining conditions, avoiding war and maintaining peace, bringing down all weapons to minimal levels, ensuring democracy and decentralization and compliance to these conditions is ensured at world level.
Once these conditions have been ensured and some norms in keeping with these conditions have been set up, then in these secure conditions there will be the most space for realizing the enormous creative potential of people in various walks of life for creating a better and safer world.
With respect to protecting the life-sustaining conditions (like significantly reducing all serious environmental problems and elimination of weapons of mass destruction) all provinces have to ultimately abide by the decisions of the world government, whose chief mandate is to protect these conditions within a framework of justice, equality and democracy, although any province can certainly appeal in case of anything that appears to be unjust or improper.
The vision of a different world outlined above is based on complete elimination of nation-states. As outlined above, there is a truly representative world government which protects the basic life-sustaining conditions of earth at various levels in a framework of justice, democracy peace and protection of all forms of life. At the base there are highly decentralized provinces and districts, villages and cities, committed to decentralized governance, justice, peace and elimination of poverty.
However, the concept of nation states has become so deeply embedded in recent times that many people may not accept this. They may like to consider a different vision which is based on the creation of a world government while retaining nation-states. Hence, as stated earlier, other possibilities should also be discussed.
In a second vision the nation-states remain as before, while electoral constituencies for world government are created, ignoring national boundaries, on average one for every 10 million people. Hence the Lower House of the World Government is created. The Upper House consists of experts as in the earlier version.
The mandate of the world government is to resolve the most serious environmental problems, eliminate all weapons of mass destruction and to protect other essential life- sustaining conditions within a framework of justice, peace and democracy. To the extent that it is necessary for this purpose, nation-states surrender their sovereignty to the world government with respect to decisions on these issues. On these aspects, all nation-states have to abide by what the world government decides. On other aspects, nation-states continue to retain their sovereignty.
In yet another version, we can go one step further. In this version, the nation-state continues to exist, but disbands its army (this includes army, air force, navy, special border protection forces etc.). All former soldiers will get re-employment, with their salary and pension protected, in disaster and accident protection, rescue and eco-restoration work, as well as in peace keeping forces of the world government. In this version the only army will be with the world government and the world government will take care of all border disputes or disagreements.
All these three versions of significant change can be debated and considered, together with other alternatives that may be suggested by more learned scholars and experts. They can also consider other versions which can achieve the same basic objectives.
Such refreshingly new solutions should be on the world’s agenda for all the people to see. In particular, these should be on the table for all the younger people and children to see, because it is their future which is most in danger under the present system. Give children and teenagers and young people a chance to see that such solutions are also on the agenda. Who knows? In their (as yet) uncorrupted innocence they may decide to choose these solutions.
As the survival crisis intensifies, there will be a new wave of yearning for new paths and solutions. There will be a turmoil and people, particularly young people, may be willing to consider new options. In such situations the sincere and honest solutions which appear impractical today may appear the most obvious solutions to the younger people, and these may get much higher acceptability among all solutions.
For this to happen, it is important for some thoughtful people to keep these ideas alive and to provoke discussion on them so that the details of such solutions can be worked out.
Who knows? What is being considered non-practical and far-fetched today may be considered to be most desirable by the next generation.
While making these suggestions humbly, this writer is aware that there are very learned scholars and academics who can present these and similar alternatives in much better ways and take these forward much more effectively. Hence these suggestions are presented here hopefully as only the initial part of a much broader effort that can evolve. What is truly important that this should be a sincere and honest effort based on peace, justice and environment protection which should stay miles away from the tyrannical versions of supranational institutions which have been sometimes promoted by powerful interest groups.
It is important that we should not accept important unhelpful and unjust aspects of world just because ‘it has always been so’ and should be willing to consider changing them if it is found to be very helpful or even essential for resolving the most basic problems. As stated earlier, big changes for justice, peace and environment protection are possible only if simultaneously education and mobilization efforts take place at grassroots for changing human values and concerns in the same direction.
Bharat Dogra is Honorary Convener of Campaign to Save Earth Now with its SED (Save the Earth Decade) Demand. Several eminent persons have endorsed this campaign. His recent books include Planet in Peril, Man over Machine, A Day in 2071, Protecting Earth for Children and Earth without Borders, as well as a Hindi version. Email—[email protected]
