World federation already has been tried with the League of Nations and the U.N. It doesn’t work.They were not attempts at world federation. Both lacked a basic power of government – the power to enforce laws on individual violators. They were merely voluntary confederations, not law-binding federations.
How can you get diverse people to agree on one system of law?
There is broad agreement already about most basic principles, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Almost everyone agrees that attacking innocent people across national boundaries should somehow be made illegal. Perhaps we can agree that global law enforcement is important to protect the Earth’s environment for the future.
You’ll never get all the people of diverse attitudes and backgrounds to get along.
The point is not that we will try to get everybody in the world to love each other, but let’s keep them from killing each other.
Abolishing war is not realistic. We should focus on arms control.
Nuclear arms control requires the cooperation of many nations. However, we believe that nations at war cannot be expected to cooperate. Meanwhile, the experience of established federations shows that use of warfare between member states can be significantly reduced or eliminated, with other security measures substituted.
World government is a fine idea for the future, but it is not worth working on now. We must deal with today’s problems.
Our efforts will be insufficient without major changes in those institutions. We must take steps toward a world federation that will enable us to deal adequately with future problems instead of waiting for those problems to overwhelm us.
You put too much emphasis on law enforcement. Instead, we should educate children and adults to respect each other. We should learn how to get along without using force of violence.
We are saying that not all problems can be handled adequately without law enforcement, and it can make space for human improvements. We stress the need for systematic law enforcement where it is absent and desperately needed – at the global level.
What is to prevent world dictatorship?
In the past 200 years we have learned how to design democratic governments that do not become dictatorships. Checks and balances are a safeguard; another is to hold officials individually accountable under world law. There would be civilian control of the military and a Bill of Rights protecting individuals. However, most of the most powerful nations in the world are democracies and would object strenuously to any undemocratic actions by the executive.
What would a worldwide federalist system do about Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein?
We have already begun by implementing the International Criminal Court to deal with the perpetrators of the worst crimes against humanity and genocide. This court has been hampered by the vociferous opposition of the United States.
How will you get the national leaders to give up their power?
They will be giving up certain illegitimate powers such as the power to commit aggression, but could use the force of world law to stop leaders of other nations from committing crimes against his/her people. The transfer could be done incrementally and in concert with all other leaders at the same time.
World federation is too big a project. It is gigantic and overwhelming.
It is already underway with international trade pacts, numerous global treaties, the internet, the International Criminal Court, and regional federations, such as the European Union. The issue is no longer whether we will have a world government but whether it will be run by large multinational corporations and their rich beneficiaries, or whether it will be democratic and broad-based.
How would individual countries even take the leap to World Federation?
Much thought has been put into this and there are several possible means:
- add a parliamentary assembly to the U.N. and gradually strengthen its capabilities
- first start an "Association of (the stronger, more stable) Democratic Countries and add countries as they mature politically;
- develop a "Global Peoples’ Assembly" and a World Constitution;
- develop a system of functional institutions and treaties that assign power to solve global problems at a level higher than the nation-state.
What can I do - I'm just one person!
Civil society has more power now than ever. The International Land Mines Treaty and the International Criminal Court came about despite opposition from some of the strongest military powers. It was public pressure from churches, peace groups and other non-governmental organizations that made the difference. Please join the World Federalists so we can research, educate and lobby for structural changes towards a more just and peaceful world!
with thanks to Debbie Metke
URL: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/wfcvb/q&a.html