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Does anyone think this is possible? Or does our very nature as humans defeat this idea?

It would never work. Religious nuts would over throw it.

Originally posted by Aziz!
It would never work. Religious nuts would over throw it.
Yes we all value you're unbaised opinion...

I'd be more inclined to say that crazy Texas Rednecks and Bush fanatic types would freak at the idea.

IMO, We're technically taking our first steps into a global government. The UN is a pretty good step this far, the only problem is that it has no ruling government. If all world leaders were somehow converted into representatives of their country/countries and wrote a world constitution then we'd perhaps might have a government body closely resembling a republic of some sort.

If we somehow achieve this the only problem would be getting a president or prime minister of some sort to do the leading.

Christian fundamentalists would say it's proof of the end times.

I wouldn't mind an EU style approach, where the nations are very close but are still separate. I don't think rouge nations should be let in though.

Originally posted by Jonathan Mark
Does anyone think this is possible? Or does our very nature as humans defeat this idea?
A global government is not only likely; it's going to become neccessary. Unless humanity faces a near-extinction event in the near future, the population boom, communications revolution, and pollution will drive people closer together. Already, the world is a much smaller place then it was four hundred years ago.

Take a look at America- many other cultures around the world learn its major language (English), adopt many of its customs (Clothing, material commodities, media, etc.), and generally its influence is all-pervasive. This is a glimpse into the future.

Here's the truly scary part though- it's clear that a global government will be needed, whether it's some extension of the UN or something radically different. The real crux is... what will it be? And what major opponent will keep it in check and present it with challenge and obstacles?

Originally posted by Jonathan Mark
Does anyone think this is possible? Or does our very nature as humans defeat this idea?

I have already begun the process....

Join me, and together we'll rule this galaxy together!!!

I believe too many would fight against losing their autonomy.

I think many people would die before the entire globe becomes unified under one government. The countries that do not have a separation of their religion from their state will more than likely resist and spark several civil wars before any type of global government becomes permanent.

Originally posted by Phoenix2001
I think many people would die before the entire globe becomes unified under one government. The countries that do not have a separation of their religion from their state will more than likely resist and spark several civil wars before any type of global government becomes permanent.

Empires did not form by negotiating with an enemy. A Global government has one leader and one leader alone. It can not be run in any other form. To rule one must conqure, there is not other way...

Great Man Theory? Interesting...

Things always move towards simplicity. The world will eventually be under one rule, it will have to be, because one united rule is the only way we will have peace. Simple systems have always proven the most stable, government is no exception.

The simplest governments include one man who calls all the shots.

Erm...

None of those lasted.

In a complex government, such as the Roman Republic, or the United States of America, they seem to have endured for hundreds of years rather easily compared to simpler governments.

Originally posted by Janus Marius
The simplest governments include one man who calls all the shots.

Erm...

None of those lasted.

In a complex government, such as the Roman Republic, or the United States of America, they seem to have endured for hundreds of years rather easily compared to simpler governments.

Well thats not really what I meant. I meant that if the world contains only one government, it is a much simpler system that would undeniably be more peaceful than the current system(multiple governments) we have right now correct?

I wasnt getting into the dynamics of individual government structure because then it gets more complicated. So many factors....I do think a dictatorship has the *potential* to be the greatest system of government, but that one man in charge would have to be a man of strong morality. And looking at reality, people in power tend to be corrupt and greedy.

The dictatorship offers the most abuses, as evidenced in history.

But anyways, a global government risks stagnation and civil war or unrest unless it has a cause or enemy to unite against. That's how humans are. That's why the United States grew complacent and stagnate after the Cold War, and is only now united against what? Terrorism. The nation needs something to rally for or against, or else it has lost its purpose. And no, peace is not a cause people will unify for in the longterm.

Originally posted by Janus Marius
The dictatorship offers the most abuses, as evidenced in history.

But anyways, a global government risks stagnation and civil war or unrest unless it has a cause or enemy to unite against. That's how humans are. That's why the United States grew complacent and stagnate after the Cold War, and is only now united against what? Terrorism. The nation needs something to rally for or against, or else it has lost its purpose. And no, peace is not a cause people will unify for in the longterm.

Well yeah I suppose were such idiots, that when we finnaly reach peace with a global government we will still destroy ourselves anyway because that world would be too beautiful for man to accept.

Agent Smith put it best...humanity is a virus.

I don't know if I share those sentiments (I certainly hate that The Matrix has formed modern philosophy in this generation and not something relevant, like Hume's works or even Kant's Critiques...) but certainly there is a correlation with higher intelligence and malicious, destructive behavior.

Originally posted by Janus Marius
I don't know if I share those sentiments (I certainly hate that The Matrix has formed modern philosophy in this generation and not something relevant, like Hume's works or even Kant's Critiques...) but certainly there is a correlation with higher intelligence and malicious, destructive behavior.

I imagine that even higher intelligence than ourselves would be peaceful. We are kind of in the inbetween.... we are smart but not yet smart. The point of ultimate idiocy.

I would assume that after decades of war, our world would eventually become unified under one government. But what kind of government? And what kind of people? Depending on whether or not our technology continues to advance, and our study on DNA/Genetics survives through several wars, could our world change into a conditioned world? Brave New World anyone? It's a pretty likely scenario considering how many times that we have already cloned things. And as far as the government goes, I guess it would really depend on how well the people are controlled. Or should I say conditioned?

How can we establish that we are "inbetween"? I realize it's a common human myth to believe that we are progressing into smarter, more moral beings, but there's nothing to suggest that. And since we have no being of higher natural intelligence to draw conclusions from other than ourselves, it becomes just pure speculation.

Originally posted by Phoenix2001
I would assume that after decades of war, our world would eventually become unified under one government. But what kind of government? And what kind of people? Depending on whether or not our technology continues to advance, and our study on DNA/Genetics survives through several wars, could our world change into a conditioned world? Brave New World anyone? It's a pretty likely scenario considering how many times that we have already cloned things. And as far as the government goes, I guess it would really depend on how well the people are controlled. Or should I say conditioned?

Brave New World? Ha... Possibly. Dystopia novels of the last century are more accurate then we'd sometimes guess. Still though... no flying cars. I was pissed about that.

Still, so long as there is power to be abused, it will be abused. If cloning leads to applicable, reliable power, then it too might be abused. But I doubt that will happen any time soon. Cloning is extremely costly and has a high failure rate. Conditioning has proven to be only so-so in effectiveness. The moment you stop reinforcing the human brain, it begins to break the hold. If conditioning really worked like they say it does in the psychology books, we'd have reconditioned criminals everywhere.

Originally posted by Jonathan Mark
Does anyone think this is possible? Or does our very nature as humans defeat this idea?

I don't think that would be possible. One government to govern all the people would be near impossible, in my opinion.

In order to have a huge global government which would be ok for everyone, the whole of world needs to share the same morals, ideas, and ideas of structure - and majority of them simply don't.

What would you do for the deal of Death Penalty for example? Either everyone has to give it up, or everyone has to implement it.

How about honour killings? You can't allow honour killings in one part of your country but disallow it in the other.

What about languages? In what language should all constitutions be written? English? Why not Spanish or Japanese?

Maybe Im wrong, but from where I stand, it seems impossible.

Originally posted by Jonathan Mark
Does anyone think this is possible? Or does our very nature as humans defeat this idea?

Not now, but within the next 500 years, yes.

We already have a global goverment...Our own. Whenever American/European interests are involved is where they choose to act. (Serb/Albanian conflict, Holocaust, Middle East, etc.) They simply look the other way when it doesn't benefit them to act (Rawanda, apartheid, african AIDS epidemic).

Different cultures and many many languages. It won't happen. It's an illusion. A global Goverment would clash...best deal we can is the UN.

Wouldn't a Global Government be alot like one nation's government, just on a higer population and power ratio?

Originally posted by Janus Marius
How can we establish that we are "inbetween"? I realize it's a common human myth to believe that we are progressing into smarter, more moral beings, but there's nothing to suggest that. And since we have no being of higher natural intelligence to draw conclusions from other than ourselves, it becomes just pure speculation.





Yes Im just speculating...I would still imagine though that if we became smarter as a whole, we would be able to see the ultimate futility of violence... like many of our greatest minds have already realized.

a global government wouldnt be able to see the needs of an individual nation would it? and why would anyone agree to that anyway?

wouldnt that just put the states in power over all?

If the world had one ruler, there would be less wars. But then again, you'd have to conquer the world first.

Originally posted by Lovely Murder
a global government wouldnt be able to see the needs of an individual nation would it? and why would anyone agree to that anyway?

wouldnt that just put the states in power over all?


Who ever said that "America" (if I understand the idea of states) would rule the world. There would be no "America" incharge of it all. As for the individual needs, there would be none. It would all be one big problem. For example. World hunger would just be a focus on 3rd world nations, it would be a focus on certain parts of the empire or derectorate or what ever you want to call it. There would be less wars. Everything (or at least it should) would be equally distriputed among the citizens. Pay would be a more or less fixed tax, and inflation wouldn't be a problem insomuch of anything less than the actual buy-sell trade.

The way I see it, we may be able to use a Global Government. Hoping that no idiot bozo would mess it up...La Revolution my butt....

I think it is possible, we already have many international organizations that hold some kind of power that extend itself beyond a single nation limit like NATO, IMF, ... if they can exist a gobal government can exist too.

I think a global government aldready exists at some level, even if its not offical yet.

The Illuminati will take over us all, lolz.

the thought of a global government, the way AOR said it, seems boring.

A global government would be a very hard thing to organize. How would it run?
what form of government would be deemed to be best suited for the task?
would it be a democracy?
So that means china and India would have a lot more say then everyone else right? would china's representatives necessarily know what is best for say... Cuba?
or would it be determined on the wealth of the nation? how would we stop the direction of the world government from being completely dominated by the wealthy and powerful?
how would the governments rule be enforced?

The person in charge would sure have a bunch of power too...president of the world? can you imagine the wrong person in that job?
Will this world government spend all its time arguing with itself about morality issues or actually move us forward? Given all wars have been pretty much based around ideology... I'd say perhaps not.
This idea might work if the the global government doesn't have too much power...perhaps leaving country's with there own governments to determine local affairs on there own.
The global government can step in to keep power from being abused. Keeping mega cooperations that have more money and power then most governments in check by enforcing the same global laws everywhere it operates would be useful to stop things like sweatshop labor and other human rights abuses. Perhaps the global government can regulate and ensure global economic and environmental goals are being met and trade is being done fairly without abuse.
of course all of this is just speculation...must easier said then done...

Global Government.

It will mainly exist as a set of laws that all nations would actually inforce. Nations would become states within this umbrella government. Nations would send representatives that would sit on a council.

...wait that's almost like the U.N.

It'd be the U.N. if the U.N. were an entity that treated all nations as equals, and didn't have favorites as it does now. Won't happen I don't think. Why? Because those in power don't want to be equal, they want everyone to be like they are. And even if the smaller powers want to be like the bigger powers they don't want the bigger power to explain to them how to do it, or even do it the same way the bigger power does.

Besides, governments are all playthings anyway. Large corporations actually pull the majority of strings in nearly every country out there.

Read Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap series. They're disgusting at times, but some company will come to power someday

The UN is too beaurocratic and pacifist to be considred a world government. If the UN could contract its own army and enforce its opinon beyond legislation, then we'd start to have a world government.

Einstein had a great many comments on world governemnts, especially arouen WWI and WWII. He had some interesting philosophies on the role of nations and world government. Funny guy.

World government is useless, it would render every culture fruitless as well.

How so?

Since there has never been a world government. What are you basing your opinons on?

My guess is: fundamental, sociopolitical and economic paradigm shifts in self-perception (no more "tribal" thinking; focusing more on our commonalities than our differences; sharing resources; trust!; etc, etc) will preceed--perhaps will have to preceed--any formation of a global government, rather than a global govenment arising first and enforcing such a shift in self-perception on populations.

Translation: I don't see it happening any sooner than the 22nd century, if even then (this barring any unforeseen world-wide catastrophes which might dictate a global government for the survival of our species).

I dont think so. We already have international beuracracies in place (UN, NATO, etc). And what about the EU? Despite botching the constitution, it still has become a farly cohesive...dare I say state?

What it lacks is a leader...a Charlemagne so to speak.