Building a World State
Mar 4th 2007CarlEquality & Political
One option that I think should be much more discussed is the world state. Of course it’s definitely not something that could be realized in a few years. It’s something to create on the long run.
Why a world state? Well, now that we have about 200 nations the world is very unequal and not coordinated. In a more and more globalized world, states lose power if they stand alone. It is also easier for international criminal organizations to take advantage of the fact that countries are not cooperating enough.
What would the world state do? Well, the world state could be a federation, without too much power, coordinating the states. It would have simple principles; it’s goal would be to guarantee the individual freedom and equality between people. Thus it would take care that no state takes measures violating individual freedom or equality.
The world state would also take hand of the taxes and it would redistribute the tax incomes so that the world would become more or less as wealthy overall. The local states could still decide to some extent about for example how they organize the services (health care), but the financement would come from the top. This is a way to ensure that poorer areas are equal toward richer areas.
The world state would also take measures so that the systems of all states are more or less compatible with each other. It means that people would be able to move anywhere without the natural limitations of having different systems (for example having 200 different education systems that are often NOT recognized abroad and so on).The world wouldn’t actually have borders like it has nowadays and everyone would be free to move anywhere he or she wants to.
As I know that these kind of proposals have a lot of critics it may be good to treat some of them. One common critic is that a world state is too utopist. Well, as said, it’s not something that would be realized in a short time. It’s something that could be realized with a lot of time and it also requires that rich countries help poorer countries much more than now. It’s also good to remember that only fifty years ago the European Union would have been something of an utopia.
Another critics is how could different cultures decide together about anything as different cultures and different religions have different perceptions about the society. Well, as long as we try to force other people live like we live we’ll have conflicts. But if we let each individual decide themself how she or he wants to live and don’t require others to live in the same way, we have much less conflicts. Actions hurting others or limiting their freedom need to be forbidden, but otherwise individuals should be allowed to do what they want to.
The world state wouldn’t thus decide how people should live (what religion they follow, if they follow traditions or not etc). The world state would guarantee that everyone can choose themselves their way of life.
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AMaxwell on 19 May 2008 at 21:12 #
You state: “…its goal would be to guarantee the individual freedom and equality between people.”
I submit that freedom and equality are on opposite sides of the equation.
I assume you want to guarantee an individual with fewer skills - less intelligence, less talented, etc. - an equal quality of food, housing, clothing, transportation and health care, to that enjoyed by an individual with more and better skills. To do this, you will have to take something- money - away from the better earner and give it to the less fortunate. Taking the fruit of his labor from the higher earner is in fact a loss of his freedom to enjoy the fruits of his own labor. An increase in equality always results in a loss of freedom. If someone is handed something, the person from which it is taken is robbed.
I also submit that if all the money in the world was divided equally among every living person tomorrow, the money immediately will start to flow towards the same people who today are talented enough to accumulate vast sums. Equality is an illusion that can only be truly successful inside the head of a dreamer.