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Drew Farrance
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No nations/ global state
September 2, 2008 - 03:01 PM
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Every time I log onto the internet I find I'm speaking with, downloading from, uploading to or examining something from a person or persons scattered around the globe. TIG is a great example of this phenomenon and the global village in action. it occurs to me that national borders and boundaries are nullified, for the most part when one engages with people on the internet. So I began to think. I am interested in what other people think about their nation and their national or cultural identity. I wonder whether people think a global state would destroy or inhibit their cultural identities - bearing in mind that in most cases cultural and national identities are not exchangable qualities. Are people afraid of a global state? are they welcoming? what do people think a global state would should or could look like? can it help or will it hurt?
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Evan
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Re: No nations/ global state
October 13, 2008 - 03:18 PM
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Well, evidence throughout history shows that a strong central government tends to quell disputes and promote peace in that region.
look at what happened after the break-up of Yugoslavia, or the Soviet Union for evidence of this.
Most people would agree that this would be a definite benefit of a "global state." These same people, however, worry about the cost. What would have to be sacrificed to guarantee peace?
In an ideal situation, the answer is nothing, but the reality is that someone would hold much more power than someone else. What happens if the one and only government in the world chooses to violate a group's rights? At an extreme level, what happens if the government decides to commit genocide. No one is available to stop them from doing so.
I am hugely in favor of a strong international peacekeeping body (the UN needs more power!) And I think some encroachment on national sovereignty would be acceptable. However, I don't relish the idea of one world government, and I would fear its absolute power.
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Drew Farrance
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Re: No nations/ global state
October 15, 2008 - 01:14 AM
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consider the absolute power in your own country, does that make you fearful of your own government or are there situations or structures where you as a citizen are able to effect change or assert your choices? Does your own state have built in mechanisms that are meant to engage the population on matters political or does it act without the consent of the people? Could it not be conceivable that a global state could also have mechanisms that act to legitimate the use of its authority that come from the peoples of that state (i.e. the world population) and therefore not be actions that are alienated from the global citizenry. Furthermore it is quite possible that the global state looks nothing like any state we have seen before, it could be more than one human sitting in a supreme position but might look a lot like the UN floor where regions are represented and have their fair say. This global state might also have inalienable rights that would prevent any governing body from anything resembling genocide. To be sure this is something that is not about to occur over night and we as people of the world are not in a position to grasp this mantle yet but I would like to bring a few points to bear on this. First, look at the US, voter turnout is low and worse, engagement in politics is lower, I hypothesize that this is due to inadequate political and social education (the results are similar in Canada). Only an educated population will be able to be engaged and make choices that are for the good of all, when one cannot understand the issues one cannot be engaged in them, instead one defers their decision to an expert; think about your engine in your car, when it makes a funny sound you bring it to an expert and abide their decision.
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Drew Farrance
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Re: No nations/ global state
October 15, 2008 - 01:15 AM
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Because generally the population is not abreast of the jargon and the bare mechanics of their political system they tend to shy away and defer their decisions. Laws and political exercises need to be made available to everyone – if that means more and better education, so be it. This will also be true of any global state. Second, we already have a quasi global state in the body of the WTO, WB, and the IMF. These bodies are able and exercise that ability to make literal changes in the laws of countries around the world. They do this through coercive measures of structural adjustment policies in the third world and through lawsuits and neo-liberal agenda setters in the first world. One of my interests in the global state is the want to balance that power that the global financial institutions have with an apparatus that is able to act with legitimacy on behalf of people who do not have financial power – generally the workers of the world.
So, if the issues that prevent a global state are questions of abuse of power consider that a global state – that I envision – would be one that is derived from popular vote and legitimacy from the ground up while the quasi global state that we have now derives its legitimacy from unelected people from privileged positions that are interested in their own personal and professional gains rather than the interests of the globe and its citizens. I agree in spirit that the UN needs more power but it is the structure of the UN that robs it of its power – it is a volunteer member run organization with no power to sanction or effectively intervene. Consider Rwanda and the challenges Romeo Dallaire faced in trying to prevent the genocide. Consider the international community’s responses to Darfur, Burma and Tibet – mostly ineffectual gestures. Consider sweatshops, sex tourism, aboriginal abuses, ‘regime changes’, and the list goes on… these things proliferate because the UN, while it has a charter of human rights, cannot DO anything due to its structure..
Anyway, I’ve ranted here, but the bottom line is that because (and I’ve had many of these conversations in person) we are afraid of the ‘absolute power’ of a ‘global state’ we completely ignore the state of the
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Drew Farrance
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Re: No nations/ global state
October 15, 2008 - 01:16 AM
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globe, we ignore that we have a quasi global state that acts to defeat sovereignty in the interests of global capital, this global state is unelected and this global state has nothing to counter act it.
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Evan
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Re: No nations/ global state
October 15, 2008 - 04:13 PM
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The political apparatus in my country that is designed to prevent absolute power is exactly what makes me fear a global state. From 2001-2007, the Republican party held a majority in every branch of the government. Between this dominance and the Patriot Act, I had a lot of fear of the government. It is mainly for this reason that I fear a global government. Checks and balances work to an extent, but sometimes you need more incentive to decrease your own power. Does that make sense?
And yes, I do believe in a restructuring of the UN, but I think that the UN is made up of fairly elected officials (except for countries that do not fairly affect individuals, but I would not want to force democracy on anyone)
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