THE WAY AHEAD
by Peter Bailey

The ultimate objective of World Beyond Borders and other global government advocates is a true democratic world federation. In case you're wondering, this means a global government in which powers are divided between the central authority and a number of constituent political units, as in the US, Canada and Switzerland. These political units may be our present assortment of nation-states or (as this article suggests) regional federations with a similar relationship between their constituent parts. The federal constitution would entail checks and balances to guard against unhealthy concentrations of power, and enough layers of autonomy to allow different cultures to breathe and to meet local and regional interests.

However, the point is not simply a better form of government. Our ultimate purpose goes beyond "world peace through world law" to a global community in a state of advanced development from pole to pole. Political, social and economic, scientific and technological, cultural and spiritual development. Unity transmuted by the alchemy of such development into synthesis. One human race on a peaceful and prosperous planet. A new world civilization.

That shouldn't be too much to ask.

Perhaps not, but asking is one thing -- receiving is another. WWhere do we start? What route should we take? How do we surmount the political and economic obstacles that lie between us and our destination? How should a world federation be structured?

The answers may lie in a three-stage approach. The first stage would be new regional federations wherever necessary, together with active pursuit of worldwide political democracy. The second stage would be a limited, transitional form of world federation to manage a period of coherent global development in a climate of peace. The third stage would be true world federation with all the features of an open, free and democratic global society. First, preparation, then transition, leading eventually to a more complete transformation than most believe possible.

Preparation

Whether we like it or not, at the start of the 21st century the world is not ready for world federation, however it is structured. There are two basic reasons.

First, although political democracy and freedom are more widespread today than ever, they are still far from universal. Since there cannot be -- by any criterion, moral or practical -- a partially democratic federaation, universal political democracy of an acceptable standard is an essential precondition. (In practice, the process may well begin when a critical mass is achieved. Holdout countries would be left to weigh their options: democracy or isolation.)

Secondly, much of the world's political and economic landscape is too fragmented, with states ranging in size from tiny to medium to fairly large, but in no case large enough for the modern age. This fragmentation denies those states the benefits of size and pooled resources, whether natural, political, economic or human. It impedes development of all kinds. It also entails a significant political and economic imbalance between the fragmented regions and - at the other end of the spectrum - the regional federations and subcontinental states. This lopsided state of affairs is unacceptable enough today. It would be equally unacceptable by any criteria in a world federation, on which it would impose a troublesome and unwieldy structure.

The solution might be found in regional federation, which has the advantage of serving several purposes.

The most obvious is the economic purpose. This can easily be seen without the help of elaborate analysis. Simply compare the USA with, for instance, Africa. If the American states were independent with their own currencies and balance of payments, many of them would have problems similar to most African countries, with recurring balance of payments and external debt problems reflecting weak economies and stunted development. This applies equally to other regions of the globe with similar characteristics. Regional federation offers its member countries the same mutual economic support that the American federation provides its member states. The misery of illusory independence is replaced by the joys of political cohesion, combined resources, collective development and common financial and monetary systems.

Another purpose is political. The difficult process of unifying, or at least harmonizing, different political systems under a federal umbrella inevitably brings democratic principles and practice into focus. An authoritarian regime may work for a single state, but a new regional union of many states, bringing a variety of interests, views and backgrounds to the table, must think about representation, consultation and consensus. This is especially true if some member states already have a democratic system. It is politically intolerable, and in practice unsustainable, to have a federal system in which undemocratic states are participants. Regional federations are therefore natural instruments of democracy, putting pressure on would-be members to change their political systems and practices if they wish to reap the benefits of union.

A third purpose is a federation's role in enforcing regional peace. Conflicts between member states are inevitably eliminated by a supranational authority applying commonly agreed federal law, and by the existence of federal institutions providing other ways of resolving disputes. The power struggles causing civil wars within states, the worldwide scourge which not only blocks but often destroys social and economic development, are diverted into constitutional channels. And again, there is a federal authority and a common incentive to make sure they stay in those channels.

A fourth purpose is in world affairs, where federations would enable regions to exercise their fair share of political and economic influence. In global negotiations and conferences, picture the United States of Africa or South and Central America, or Central Asia, or South-East Asia, or the Middle East, rather than today's multitude of smaller states. Some world federalists fear regional federations as new power blocs or find them inconsistent with global federation. The only fair and logical conclusion of such arguments is to advocate the break-up of existing regional federations and other subcontinental states, either immediately or as a condition of their entry into world federation. However, federation clearly makes sense for such regions as the US, Canada, India, Brazil and Europe and, that being so, others should follow their example.

In fact, Africa and Latin America are already starting to follow it and it is surely only a matter of time before other regions will do so. Meanwhile, existing subcontinental nations of sufficient size may need to upgrade their systems. It is not crucial for the purpose of world federation that they have a domestic federal system if they work well enough without it. However, it is vital that they adopt political democracy and basic freedoms. For China, the main culprit in that respect and the key to change in its region, it is time to become the People's Republic in fact as well as name.

Finally, there is another important dimension to regional federation, and that is its function in the structure of world federation.

Transition

Universal political democracy and regional federation were identified above as preconditions for a workable world federation. When those conditions are met, a form of world federation should be feasible. However, even when it is established, the first world federation may have to be a limited model, short of many of the features of true federation.

Why? Because a true world federation requires global conditions which cannot be created with the wave of a wand or the stroke of a pen. There are major obstacles which, although some progress is being made, cannot be decisively overcome in the present international jungle. Here, then, is the dilemma: world federation is needed to solve the world's most intractable problems, but there cannot be true world federation until they are largely solved. The answer seems clear. We must establish a world federation as soon as conditions permit, but we must accept the prospect that the nature of that federation will be limited for an indefinite period by the very problems it must address. It would, however, be a bridge by which to cross from the old world to the new.

There are problems of many kinds, but our immediate concern is their political implications for the future of world federation. One of the most fundamental problems is the great disparity of social and economic development across the globe. Only one-fifth of the world's population lives in the currently developed regions, and this proportion will not change significantly in the coming decades. It is most unlikely that those regions would accept a federal governmental structure which would give an overwhelming, built-in majority in its various institutions to the less developed but heavily populated regions. It is also probable that much of the developing world would be slow to welcome a truly federal system that might subject them to, for instance, the social and legal values of the developed world. Another typical sticking point would be unrestricted freedom of migration, a normal feature of true federation, but one which will not be feasible while the wide disparity in global living standards remains.

Political correctness and idealism will not help us here. It is important to recognize not only that these and other such issues exist, but also that they must be approached realistically, not least because they are at the heart of much of the opposition to the very idea of world government.

A period of transition may therefore be needed to allow political and cultural attitudes to adjust, and enable social and economic conditions to evolve, until true world federation emerges in a painless and natural birth. This would require an interim structure of global government that would give it the mandate and institutions to impose world law and pursue coherent global programs of social and economic development in a climate of peace, but offer regional representation and regional autonomy in sufficient measure to allay mutual fears of foreign domination, whether by a majority or a minority.

During the transition, at least, the solution could be a world federation of regional federations. This might involve a federal structure based on equal representation of regional federations, regardless of population size. The legislature, for example, might borrow from the model of the US Congress, whose Senate is based on equal representation from states of all sizes, while its House of Representatives reflects the distribution of population. The federal administration and institutions would raise similar issues, requiring similar solutions. There is a range of possibilities, but a world federation of regional federations may be what is needed to open up the way ahead.

Transformation

The process will be gradual and take many generations, but eventually the whole planet will be a socially and economically developed country, enjoying comprehensive democracy. There will be true world federation, embodying unity rather than division. Extraordinary scientific and technological advances will reach into all aspects of life. The new global community will be reflected in an official world language, an emerging worldwide culture and a unifying spiritual philosophy, in each case embracing rather than replacing present forms. With unfettered freedom to migrate, humanity will have become a rainbow race, its common genetic identity no longer hidden by cultural veils. A new world civilization will have emerged. That is the ultimate purpose of democratic world federation.


"A graduate of Oxford, Peter Bailey lived and worked in London and Austria for several years before moving to Canada. In Ottawa, he worked in a federal agency as an international economist for almost three decades, traveling widely and serving on Canadian delegations to many international meetings, especially aid and debt negotiations. He is on the National Council of the Canadian world federalist movement."

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