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originally posted in:Secular Sevens
Edited by Mister Sparkles : 12/17/2013 7:26:33 PM
35

World Government

It seems inevitable that we should eventually reach the stage of a single, worldwide government. Or failing that, a regression back to a WWI-esque alliance system, without the inordinate hostility. If it is a world government, or at the least some sort of Euro-American government, which comes to fruition, it seems like the [i]only[/i] option is for it to be authoritarian and fundamentally anti-liberty. It may be the case that a government is established on the principles of civil libertarianism, social equality and economic freedom, but how likely is it that it will continue like this? Just look at the U.S.; even without capitalism as an influence, the State is an institution and it is always in the interest of such institutions to consolidate power and reinforce authority. Of course, there could be solution to this. Anarcho-communism being one, and while it might work at first, I can't see it being sustainable for any decent period of time. There are far too many operations of social control and efficiency that require a State. Also, one idea that came to mind while thinking about it is to have the State as a [i]function[/i] of society, instead of an institution. It's difficult to explain, but fundamentally it relies on the idea of the government not being an entity, but a process from which everything is formed. The obvious issues here being that some sort of socialist economy, likely syndicalism, would be necessary, and that the government would be both legislatively and executively weak. It seems the problems with political beliefs is that they assume there is a solution to the dissatisfaction and problems we face. [b]TL;DR: A world government, or united "western" government, seems inevitable. However, it also seems the only way for this to be effective is for it to be authoritarian. [/b]
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  • Edited by Diplomat: 12/27/2013 7:01:14 PM
    >It seems inevitable that we should eventually reach the stage of a single, worldwide government. I disagree; at least for now, national, ethnic and religious divides are far too volatile to allow for a singular government to arise in the near future. It will be a LONG, LONG time before the world reaches the cultural homogeneity to allow for a united Earth government to arise. There might be certain events that expedite the progress, such as extraterrestrial contact that forms new perceptions of self and group (i.e. instead of Tom the American, it's Tom the Human). The idea of the "End of History" has been touted for quite some time, since the early 90s. It's actually affiliated with the rise of neoconservatism. >If it is a world government, or at the least some sort of Euro-American government, which comes to fruition, it seems like the only option is for it to be authoritarian and fundamentally anti-liberty. Why? You're saying this without offering any sort of substantial logical foundation for your position. Is it because of intergroup tensions? Historically, these have been managed by an authoritarian government, such as Saddam's Baathist government keeping a lid on sectarian tensions in Iraq. >Also, one idea that came to mind while thinking about it is to have the State as a function of society, instead of an institution. Are the two really mutually exclusive? An institution is an organization that executes a function. Police provide security, hospitals provide care, and airlines provide transport. There needs to be an entity that directs the flow of work in a meaningful fashion for society to function properly.

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