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Devolved power is a better servant to ordinary people than mega-centres of concentrated might, which tend to become the master rather than the man. The drawback is of course is that they are more easy prey for ruthless multinationals and larger states. More pragmatically, look at the problems within the EU, which is not yet even a quasi-state, but is unable to function and provide equality for its citizens. A world government would be the end of the world.

Laura wrote: "Maybe it's just me: I'm 66. Have survived cancer, a roll-over car accident, and almost died. My smart parents got us out of Cuba in 1960. Lost my Father to lung cancer at age 11, Stayed in two abus..."
You're a strong woman, I'm sure the people around you find you an inspiration.

Global citizenship

Global citizenship is the rights, responsibilities and duties that come with being a member of the global entity as a citizen of a particular nation or place. The idea is that one’s identity transcends geography or political borders and that responsibilities or rights are or can be derived from membership in a broader class: "humanity". This does not mean that such a person denounces or waives their nationality or other, more local identities, but such identities are given "second place" to their membership in a global community.[1] Extended, the idea leads to questions about the state of global society in the age of globalization.[2] In general usage, the term may have much the same meaning as "world citizen" or cosmopolitan, but it also has additional, specialized meanings in differing contexts. Various organizations, such as the World Service Authority, have advocated global citizenship.

Albert Einstein described himself as a world citizen and supported the idea throughout his life,[49] famously saying "Nationalism is an infantile disease. It is the measles of mankind."[50] World citizenship has been promoted by distinguished people including Garry Davis, who lived for 60 years as a citizen of no nation, only the world. Davis founded the World Service Authority in Washington, DC, which sells World Passports, a fantasy passport to world citizens.[51]

“This planet is for everyone, borders are for no one. It's all about freedom.� � Benjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy

The earth is one world, and its human beings must learn to live in peace with each other or perish. Nationalities and labeling and grouping humans in the world on the basis religion, creed, gender, race, caste, color and economic status has created a psyche of “us versus them� resulting in constant conflicts. Human survival depends on humanity applying the principles of one world, one country and one race. Oneness means we all belong to one race � the human race. At the end of the day we are all the same. Until humanity sees that national conflict and racial antagonism come from within, these inward psychological causes will continue to bear bitter fruit and misery. Now is the time to give up psychological positions of all kinds that cause people to take separate sides. Let’s move linked together to a new level of global unity � for that is just what we are; one planet, one world, one human family of diversity, beauty and splendor. We are all interconnected and interdependent on each other because we are all One. When we acknowledge our Oneness, we see that there is nothing outside of ourselves in opposition to our unity, and the illusory walls of separation dissolve and disappear. We are all in this together!

Amen, Brian!
Beautifully summarized.
James

Can you please share how your books relate to this idea of a united world, Brian?

For example, I noticed your intriguing titles as follows:

Oneness: Principles of World Peace



Freedom: United World Peace

I'm currently reading two books which have information which could be useful in considering this topic.
First:
Our Oriental Heritage: A History of Civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China, and Japan from the Beginning to Our Own Day, with by Will Durant,
and next:
The Fate of Empires: Being an Inquiry into the Stability of CivilizationThe Fate of Empires by Arthur John Hubbard.

Both these discuss the different elements and ideas that are involved in how societies develop into nations and then grow into more extensive and complex empires.

Why World Citizenship Is A Good Idea

How to register as a World Citizen

Application for a World Passport

My Country is the World: The Adventures of a World Citizen



Passport to Freedom: A Guide for World Citizens

The Real Conspiracies Behind Watchmen

I vote for global citizenship without political pillaging of people and planet

World Citizenship is wishful thinking founded in primitive thinking. Study anarchism - it doesn't work. Man is a predator and depravity is never far away. Freedom without rules is chaos. Civilisation requires rules. Who will enforce the rules and what will they be? How do you account for different belief systems. How do you counter those who ruin as they please (or merely take what they want) and disappear?
Every empire fails. The bigger it is, the harder the landing.
Much could be learned by understanding how the economic centre of the world moved to Europe The forces keeping it there are getting weaker - it just needs a push - maybe the New Silk Road aka China's ambitious Road and Belt scheme, will do the trick. If it does, Europe will be relegated back to the fringes.
I suppose if we all ditched religion, culture and language i.e. what makes us what we are, and pretended not to notice differences in colour and appearance... naw, that's not gonna happen.
Read history, understand how empires fall and how the West rose - I recommend accounts of the doings of the Mongols which tells us what we are really like as well as informing us about our origins as a civilisation.

Terence wrote: "World Citizenship is wishful thinking founded in primitive thinking. Study anarchism - it doesn't work. Man is a predator and depravity is never far away. Freedom without rules is chaos. Civilisati..."

Exact same issues were said to be impossible to be able to be resolved before most nations were formed, keep in mind. Some nations share a common bond between peoples, but many others are full of different groups, ethnic factions and religious peoples (e.g. Turkey, Philippines, etc) and yet have remained in tact or united for the most part. Even creating the United States as we know it now was claimed to be impossible by many before it was done.

A world beyond nations will definitely happen in my opinion, just a question of when not if. Technology alone is making nations and borders less relevant, anyway, so even if we don't become mature enough to think globally I imagine we'll have to deal with some sort of world citizenship model eventually anyway. And there's a way to do it in respectful ways to all cultures just as certain nations formed but carefully made sure all cultures were respected and kept alive. Really a one world nation is simply a bigger version of what has already been done numerous times to create many of the nations worldwide. And what we learn from nations, although highly complex and not black and white, is in general when peoples are all under the same umbrella (e.g. "we are all Americans", "we are all French", "we are all Brazilians") is that there is greater respect for fellow citizens than beforehand. talking in generalities of course, as like I said it's not a black and white issue and primitive Nationilists can always find certain examples of isolated geopolitical issues (e.g. Gaza) to supposedly prove their points...

Couple of recent articles to consider...

Global citizenship: The birth of a new world order
As the hegemony of the nation state deteriorates, a brave new world is being conceived.

"The longer the voters spend dreaming of democracy past, the more probable it is that they will wake up to find that they no longer exist."

Global citizenship workshop encourages border-less activism

Students and guests from local non-profit organizations discussed what it means to “think globally, act locally� at the iZone Forum on Thursday.

A global citizen is “someone who strips themselves away from borders,� event organizer and sophomore Hager Elkhidi said. “Someone who is willing to grasp an idea and act on it.�

Iain wrote: "The Mongol civilization had a temporary shelf-life because they tolerated other civilization's customs, religions and culture"

Which misses the point. Their main achievement (importantly for us) was the destruction of the Khwarezmian Empire, not just the armies but the civilian population in the cities of the Old Silk Road (which is where the economic centre of the world lay). It was a Central Asian civilisation with a population of 30 - 40 million. The remnants are called Tajiks, former (and despised) city dwellers. Their replacements are Kazakh (the free). The Mongol method of exacting tribute involved humiliating the women (i.e. mass rape). If they were displeased there might then be a general slaughter of civilians. So the Kazakh populate was is now Kazakhstan from which the the 'R1a' male haplogroup has been replaced by haplogroup 'C'. The Mongol armies were rightly called Turco-Mongol hordes; they were mostly Turks. Evidence of that event can be found in the Turkish speaking peoples, stretching all the way West to Syria and Turkey, through what historians term: Greater Iran - i.e. Iranic speaking lands. The history of Russia has been one of fighting off slaving raids. Eventually the Crimea war sorted out the Crimean Tatars - that's 600 years after the Turco-Mongol eruption. Central Asia and the Middle East is still a mess - something the West doesn't get. So there's the spectacle of naive self-promoters like Tony Blair assuming his experience of climbing the pyramid of political power in a settled, civilised state can be somehow transposed into a place where tensions are very deep, pre-dating our UK by several centuries.
never liked to hang around after plundering a nation
and
They got assimilated in the end
is a Western characterisation of how events fell out.
It is often said that the West doesn't understand.
One of my ongoing projects is converting Juvaini's Tarikh-i Jahangushay-i into Kindle, the current Kindle version being merely PDF capture.

To give a flavour of the terror at the Mongol armies, here's Hulagu's threat to the Mameluk's circa 1260 AD. As context, Hulagu was grandson of Genghis and Qutuz (who claimed to be of Khwarezmian royal blood) was an escaped soldier-slave (mamluk) from the Turco-Mongol hordes. They were of the same cloth. Qutuz is part of Egypt's founding myth because he commanded the army at Ain Jalut, the battle that stopped the relentless westward push by the Mongols. If he'd fallen, Islam would have fallen with him (the Mongol commander Kitbuqa, a Nestorian Christian).


"From the King of Kings in the East and the West, the mighty Khan: In your name, O God, You who laid out the earth and raised up the skies. Let al-Malik al-Muzaffar Qutuz, who is of the race of Mamluks who fled before our swords into this country, who enjoyed its comforts and then killed its rulers, let al-Malik al-Muzzafar Qutuz know, as well as the Emirs of his state and the people of his kingdom, in Egypt and in the adjoining countries, that we are the army of God on His earth. He created us from his wrath and urged us against those who incurred His anger. In all lands there are examples to admonish you and to deter you from challenging our resolve. Be warned by the fate of others and hand over your power to us before the veil is torn and you are sorry and your errors are rebound upon you. For we do not pity those who weep, nor are we tender to those who complain. You have heard that we have conquered the lands and cleansed the earth of corruption and killed most of the people. Yours to flee: ours to pursue. And what land will shelter you, what road save you; what country protect you? You have no deliverance from our swords and you cannot avoid dreading us for our horses are swift, our arrows do pierce, our swords like thunder-bolts, our hearts like rocks and our numbers like sand. Fortresses cannot withstand us; armies are of no avail in fighting us. Your prayers against us will not be heard, for you have eaten forbidden things and your speech is foul, you betray oaths and promises, and disobedience and fractiousness prevail among you. Be informed that your lot will be shame and humiliation. "Today you are recommenced with the punishment of humiliation, because you were so proud on earth without right and for your wrongdoing" (Quran, xlvi, 20). "Those who have done wrong will know to what end they will revert" (Quran,xxvi. 227). Those who make war against us are sorry; those who seek our protection are safe. If you submit to our orders and conditions, then your rights and duties are the same as ours. If you resist you will be destroyed. Do not, therefore, destroy yourselves with you own hands. He who is warned should be on his guard. You are convinced that we are the infidels, and we are convinced that you are debauchers. God, who determines all and judges all, has urged us against you. What much for you is little for us, the honorable for you is base for us. Your kings should expect nothing from us except humiliation. Therefore, do not wait long but quickly answer us before the fire of war is set and the spark is thrown over you then You will not have from us dignity, nor comfort, nor protection, nor sanctuary and you will suffer at our hands the most fearful calamity, and your land will be empty of you. By writing to you we have dealt equitably with you and have awakened you by warning you. Now we have no other purpose but you. Peace be with both us and you, and with all of those who follow divine guidance, who fear the consequences of evil and who obey the Supreme King. Say to Egypt, Hulagu has come with swords unsheathed and sharp. The mightiest of her people will become humble and he will send their children to join the aged. "
(Letter from Hulagu to Qutuz)- Al-Maqrizi, p. 515-516/vol. 1 / Ibn Aybak al-dwadari,pp.47-48 / al-Qalqashandi, pp.63-64 / Qasim, p. 61

By the time of this threat, The Golden Age of Islam was already snuffed out. The cities of the East had been systematically destroyed by the Mongols. With ruthless efficiency Mongol armies raped, plundered and slaughtered their way across Asia. In Khwarezm alone the civilian slaughter is put at between 10 and 20 million. You either fled or were dead.
* * *
Fiction needs depth even Fantasy Fiction. I use this to inform my own narratives- I'm presently working on a parallel world at a similar technology level to C13th Eurasia. In the process of creation you change things around e.g. Northland Steppes, Lands of the Khaif... plus some thought on how to make magic plausible. Okay, hint time over; in the few days holiday I've left I've lots of writing to get done.
:-)

Graham Hancock on Nationalism