A world government is a hypothetical entity consisting of a single or series of levels of government with authority encompassing the entire planet. No such world government has ever existed, although large empires and superpowers have attained something of that level of power; historical examples have generally been hindered by the fact that insufficient communications and travel made a world organisation of any sort, much less an entire government, unfeasible. This article will examine what proposals have been made for a world government, and which movements have advocated such a state. Some internationalists seek the establishment of a world government as a way of establishing freedom and a benign rule of law over the world. Some (including internationalists) have concerns that a world government would need to respect the diversity of the nations or peoples it includes. Others regard a global government as a nightmarish possibility, with a malevolent world government creating an endless totalitarian state without the prospect of escape or revolution. The alternative term global political monoculture emphasizes the latter fears perceived by some to be developing via either the transnational corporations or international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund the World Trade Organization and World Bank. Similarly, the term global cosmopolitan democracy describes a world government based on respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Many modern internationalists say that current shortcomings in the international order may be redressed not by merely opposing globalization, which they see as an inevitable and even welcome process, but by counterbalancing the ills brought by over-centralization or purely economic interests (such as violation of human rights - including labor rights - and sociocultural and environmental integrity) with similarly global representative democratic institutions having supranational authority. The idea of world government is often explored in science fiction, either as a central theme or as plot backdrop.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 09:16:34 +0000
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