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Thought Experiment: The United States of Earth

DifferentDrummr

DifferentDrummr

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If there is ever going to be anything like a free and fair world government - and I'm not predicting either way - it seems like the federal/state model used in the US could translate into a world/national model over the rest of the planet.

Here are some ideas I've been playing with. Maybe someone can tweak them to make them more serviceable.

General

* All nations would retain their sovereignty and their borders. However, all nations are required to have some form of representative government, with at least the nation’s legislature elected by its residents. Nations are not allowed to pass laws that violate human rights based on race, gender, language, or religion.
* There would be a single currency and a single exchange for securities/commodities, etc.
* All people would be allowed to travel to and purchase real estate at fair market prices within any other nation.
* Nations are allowed to maintain their own armed forces, along with counterparts maintained by the international government. No nation may order any part of its military into another nation without that nation’s permission. The International military can be ordered into another nation only at the request of that nation.

The International Government

* A constitution defines the structure and the powers of the international government. It can be amended only with an approval of a majority of the nations.
* A Parliament consisting of delegates from each nation, proportional to the nation’s population. It has sole authority to craft and pass international laws.
* A Prime Minister is elected by and from the Parliament to serve as the head of the world government. Elections must be held every 5 years from when the PM takes office.
* An international court resolves disputes among the national governments and among entities based in different nations (for cases such as intellectual property).

Major provisions of the international constitution

* All people are free to practice any religion they choose, or no religion. However, they are not allowed to cause intentional or malicious harm to others in the name of their religion.
* No person can be subject to any criminal penalty for criticizing any government or government official.
* Maintaining free and fair trade among all nations.
* Continued existence of Interpol, working with national police organizations.
* The international criminal court becomes responsible for trying cases of crimes against humanity, human trafficking, genocide, and terrorism. Other crimes are defined and punished by the individual nations.
* The international government is responsible for natural disaster relief, containing contagious diseases, and regulating international transportation for safety.
* Parliament has the authority to legislate any conventional type of tax and tax rate to fund the government’s charter.
* Any power not outlined in the international constitution is the responsibility of the individual nations.
 
Considering the U.N. is such a cesspool already, you want something like it to have MORE power?
 
Sounds a lot like the EU.

Unfortunately...Islamic nations would never allow this to happen.
 
Hell no. If that ever comes to pass I will demand a revolution and all the assholes responsible for it dragged through the streets and hung like the pigs they are.
 
Nah, I'm all for an honest Imperial government.

That way all the greedy, rapacious elitists would be readily identified rather than hiding behind democratic facades.

At least you'd know when Caesar threw you some coins it was an honest effort to buy your support. :)
 
Henrin said:
Hell no. If that ever comes to pass I will demand a revolution and all the assholes responsible for it dragged through the streets and hung like the pigs they are.
Click to expand...

Thankfully revolutions don't happen because people like you demand them.
 
DifferentDrummr said:
If there is ever going to be anything like a free and fair world government - and I'm not predicting either way - it seems like the federal/state model used in the US could translate into a world/national model over the rest of the planet.

Here are some ideas I've been playing with. Maybe someone can tweak them to make them more serviceable.

General

* All nations would retain their sovereignty and their borders. However, all nations are required to have some form of representative government, with at least the nation’s legislature elected by its residents. Nations are not allowed to pass laws that violate human rights based on race, gender, language, or religion.
* There would be a single currency and a single exchange for securities/commodities, etc.
* All people would be allowed to travel to and purchase real estate at fair market prices within any other nation.
* Nations are allowed to maintain their own armed forces, along with counterparts maintained by the international government. No nation may order any part of its military into another nation without that nation’s permission. The International military can be ordered into another nation only at the request of that nation.

The International Government

* A constitution defines the structure and the powers of the international government. It can be amended only with an approval of a majority of the nations.
* A Parliament consisting of delegates from each nation, proportional to the nation’s population. It has sole authority to craft and pass international laws.
* A Prime Minister is elected by and from the Parliament to serve as the head of the world government. Elections must be held every 5 years from when the PM takes office.
* An international court resolves disputes among the national governments and among entities based in different nations (for cases such as intellectual property).

Major provisions of the international constitution

* All people are free to practice any religion they choose, or no religion. However, they are not allowed to cause intentional or malicious harm to others in the name of their religion.
* No person can be subject to any criminal penalty for criticizing any government or government official.
* Maintaining free and fair trade among all nations.
* Continued existence of Interpol, working with national police organizations.
* The international criminal court becomes responsible for trying cases of crimes against humanity, human trafficking, genocide, and terrorism. Other crimes are defined and punished by the individual nations.
* The international government is responsible for natural disaster relief, containing contagious diseases, and regulating international transportation for safety.
* Parliament has the authority to legislate any conventional type of tax and tax rate to fund the government’s charter.
* Any power not outlined in the international constitution is the responsibility of the individual nations.
Click to expand...

Impossible.

Ditch the common currency thing and the plan will gain a lot more credibility. The entire world with a single currency would be a disaster.
 
DifferentDrummr said:
If there is ever going to be anything like a free and fair world government - and I'm not predicting either way - it seems like the federal/state model used in the US could translate into a world/national model over the rest of the planet.

Here are some ideas I've been playing with. Maybe someone can tweak them to make them more serviceable.

General

* All nations would retain their sovereignty and their borders. However, all nations are required to have some form of representative government, with at least the nation’s legislature elected by its residents. Nations are not allowed to pass laws that violate human rights based on race, gender, language, or religion.
* There would be a single currency and a single exchange for securities/commodities, etc.
* All people would be allowed to travel to and purchase real estate at fair market prices within any other nation.
* Nations are allowed to maintain their own armed forces, along with counterparts maintained by the international government. No nation may order any part of its military into another nation without that nation’s permission. The International military can be ordered into another nation only at the request of that nation.

The International Government

* A constitution defines the structure and the powers of the international government. It can be amended only with an approval of a majority of the nations.
* A Parliament consisting of delegates from each nation, proportional to the nation’s population. It has sole authority to craft and pass international laws.
* A Prime Minister is elected by and from the Parliament to serve as the head of the world government. Elections must be held every 5 years from when the PM takes office.
* An international court resolves disputes among the national governments and among entities based in different nations (for cases such as intellectual property).

Major provisions of the international constitution

* All people are free to practice any religion they choose, or no religion. However, they are not allowed to cause intentional or malicious harm to others in the name of their religion.
* No person can be subject to any criminal penalty for criticizing any government or government official.
* Maintaining free and fair trade among all nations.
* Continued existence of Interpol, working with national police organizations.
* The international criminal court becomes responsible for trying cases of crimes against humanity, human trafficking, genocide, and terrorism. Other crimes are defined and punished by the individual nations.
* The international government is responsible for natural disaster relief, containing contagious diseases, and regulating international transportation for safety.
* Parliament has the authority to legislate any conventional type of tax and tax rate to fund the government’s charter.
* Any power not outlined in the international constitution is the responsibility of the individual nations.
Click to expand...

I'm noticing a distinct absence of any provisions to keep a standing international military in place here. Will it be levied from different nation states? Will individual states be required to pay taxes to maintain that military?

Is it simply going to be a largely irrelevant token force, with national militaries doing most of the leg work?

For that matter, who commands that military? Will it be the PM, or the legislature? Under what circumstances could it declare war?
 
tecoyah said:
Sounds a lot like the EU.

Unfortunately...Islamic nations would never allow this to happen.
Click to expand...
Considering the way they have turned the UNHRC into a complete joke, better that than having them influence the proceedings.

Creating a political body operating on democratic principles by comprising it of those who do not believe in human rights or democracy seems silly.
 
DifferentDrummr said:
If there is ever going to be anything like a free and fair world government - and I'm not predicting either way - it seems like the federal/state model used in the US could translate into a world/national model over the rest of the planet.

Here are some ideas I've been playing with. Maybe someone can tweak them to make them more serviceable.

General

* All nations would retain their sovereignty and their borders. However, all nations ...have some form of representative government, with ...legislature elected by its residents. Nations are not allowed to pass laws that violate human rights...
* There would be a single currency and a single exchange for securities/commodities, etc.
* All people would be allowed to travel to and purchase real estate at fair market prices within any other nation.
* Nations are allowed to maintain their own armed forces, along with counterparts maintained by the international government. No nation may order any part of its military into another nation without that nation’s permission. The International military can be ordered into another nation only at the request of that nation.

...edited for brevity...



* All people are free to practice any religion they choose, or no religion. However, they are not allowed to cause intentional or malicious harm to others in the name of their religion.
* No person can be subject to any criminal penalty for criticizing any government or government official.
* Maintaining free and fair trade among all nations.
* Continued existence of Interpol, working with national police organizations.
* The international criminal court becomes responsible for trying cases of crimes against humanity, human trafficking, genocide, and terrorism. Other crimes are defined and punished by the individual nations.
* The international government is responsible for natural disaster relief, containing contagious diseases, and regulating international transportation for safety.
* Parliament has the authority to legislate any conventional type of tax and tax rate to fund the government’s charter.
* Any power not outlined in the international constitution is the responsibility of the individual nations.
Click to expand...



It's a nice idea in theory.


There are innumerable problems with it in reality, and obstacles I don't see being surmounted anytime in the coming century.

Here are a few...

* All nations would retain their sovereignty and their borders. However, all nations are required to have some form of representative government, with at least the nation’s legislature elected by its residents. Nations are not allowed to pass laws that violate human rights based on race, gender, language, or religion.
Click to expand...


About a third or more of the nations in the world are, regardless of their nominal structure, essentially dictatorships or oligarchy. They're not going to sign on to hand over power to a REAL representative democracy. Not willingly.



Next...

* All people would be allowed to travel to and purchase real estate at fair market prices within any other nation.
Click to expand...


About next Tuesday, a couple hundred million people try to move to America. Another hundred million try to move to Canada. Another billion try to move to Europe. Why? That's where the wealth and cushy living are.
We'd have to have something a lot closer to globe-wide parity in per-capita wealth before this would work.



Also...

* Nations are allowed to maintain their own armed forces, along with counterparts maintained by the international government. No nation may order any part of its military into another nation without that nation’s permission. The International military can be ordered into another nation only at the request of that nation.
Click to expand...


You just gave your new Earth government ZERO power to back up anything it says militarily. It can't overthrow a dictator, put a stop to human rights violations, etc except at the request of that nation. It can go to the defense of a member nation that requests it but can't follow through by destroying the attacking nation's military support structure, making it a hard war. No teeth in that dog.



And this one's going to be trouble too....

* All people are free to practice any religion they choose, or no religion. However, they are not allowed to cause intentional or malicious harm to others in the name of their religion.
Click to expand...


Quite a few Islamic nations won't sit still for that. There would have to be a major Reformation and Moderation of Islam before countries like Iran and Saudi would give up their right to religiously oppress.
Also the Red Chinese aren't fond of freedom of religion.

That's just the short version of the problems I see.


So in short, there's a lot of problems there that will not be solved quickly or easily, and probably won't be solved anytime THIS century I feel sure.
 
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DifferentDrummr said:
Want to elaborate?
Click to expand...

Different countries have different fiscal policies. A common currency inhibits governments from inputting the optimal fiscal policy for their given peoples since there's a chance that that could bring the whole currency down for the rest.
 
Luftwaffe said:
Different countries have different fiscal policies. A common currency inhibits governments from inputting the optimal fiscal policy for their given peoples since there's a chance that that could bring the whole currency down for the rest.
Click to expand...


Or one country bringing everyone else down. Greece/EU.
 
Gathomas88 said:
I'm noticing a distinct absence of any provisions to keep a standing international military in place here. Will it be levied from different nation states? Will individual states be required to pay taxes to maintain that military?

Is it simply going to be a largely irrelevant token force, with national militaries doing most of the leg work?

For that matter, who commands that military? Will it be the PM, or the legislature? Under what circumstances could it declare war?
Click to expand...

Well, bullet 4 in the "General" section does provide for a standing international military. IMO it should be an all-volunteer force that solicits recruits from all nation states. States would be exempt from taxes: only individuals and businesses are taxed, as in the federal model. The PM would command the international military, and could declare war with a majority vote by the parliament.
 
Luftwaffe said:
Different countries have different fiscal policies. A common currency inhibits governments from inputting the optimal fiscal policy for their given peoples since there's a chance that that could bring the whole currency down for the rest.
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, in fact American corporations not hiring Americans because they can get cheaper labor from 3rd world **** holes is the greatest threat to American jobs and the American economy. It's great for greedy rich Capitalists that already have millions if not billions but certianly not good for the majority of Americans.
 
blaxshep said:
Not necessarily, in fact American corporations not hiring Americans because they can get cheaper labor from 3rd world **** holes is the greatest threat to American jobs and the American economy. It's great for greedy rich Capitalists that already have millions if not billions but certianly not good for the majority of Americans.
Click to expand...

Yes necessarily. Just because outsourcing and rich people break your socialist heart, doesn't mean that what you think is right.
 
Luftwaffe said:
Impossible.

Ditch the common currency thing and the plan will gain a lot more credibility. The entire world with a single currency would be a disaster.
Click to expand...

I too would like to hear why.
 
Luftwaffe said:
Yes necessarily. Just because outsourcing and rich people break your socialist heart, doesn't mean that what you think is right.
Click to expand...

Great, I cant wait for your job to be outsourced.
 
blaxshep said:
Great, I cant wait for your job to be outsourced.
Click to expand...

And it'd suck for me if it happened wouldn't it? Welcome to capitalism and globalism, that which America has fought for for nearly a century.
 
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