YES! Vote “Yes” for YOUR Democratic World Government

Foreword: Written a little more than three years ago, the premise advocated for remains the same. Many twists and turns have occurred since 2009, and the world is closer than ever to the possibility of a significant regional, even “true” world war, economic demise, and socio-political turmoil. The nonprofit NGO Vote World Government has since renamed itself Vote World Parliament (VWP) and invited me to serve on its Board. I accepted the honor with gratitude. VWP’s website is now found at:

https://voteworldparliament.org/.

Please go there and vote. Thank you.

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YES! Vote “Yes!” for YOUR Democratic World Government

As humanity continues to blunder toward global collapse where worse case scenarios are fast becoming the most likely scenarios, good people around the world wonder what they can do if anything. Many struggle alone or in small groups in the cause of their choices, large organizations have gone deep to stay alive but focus upon only one cause, while the rest of us feel resigned, cynical perhaps, apathetic, demoralized, even depressed. I call this the “whatever syndrome,” as in when you tell someone that this time the sky really is falling or the wolves are actually killing and eating the sheep they just shrug their shoulders, mumble “Whatever,” and go back to doing whatever they happen to be doing.

Folks, there IS something positive each one of us can do.

Vote “Yes!” for Democratic World Government. And do it now. I voted “Yes.” Tell others to do it, too. Go to the website at:

https://voteworldparliament.org/,

(formerly http://www.voteworldgovernment.org/ and vote.

This is a worldwide internet-based voting via global referendum. You can find out more about it at its companion website:

http://www.rescueplanforplanetearth.com/.

I recently had the pleasure of reading a new book called Rescue Plan for Planet Earth: Democratic World Government through a Global Referendum. The author is Jim Stark of Canada. He lives in rural Quebec and served as a global anti-nuclear weapons activist during the Cold War.

His is a brilliant book. I have long struggled without success over what we can do to work with nation-state regimes, stateless nations, the UN and the Bretton Woods Three, or bypass all of them in some local-global grassroots initiative. Established institutions are inherently resistant to overtly surrendering power. The answer is to leverage telecommunications technology including the Internet as well as mail-in paper ballots from across Earth to launch, maintain, and sustain a Global Referendum for planetary democracy.

Jim Stark throws down a challenge for all of us, and it is a challenge any one of us capable adults can answer. His Global Referendum is a way to involve all of us, even if we disagree with it.

Vote World Government is an NGO, a non-governmental organization, active in the pursuit and creation of transparent, democratic world government. While some people quibble over the wording of the ballot proposition as it currently exists, it is simple and direct. The ballot proposition asks:

“Do you support the creation of a directly-elected, representative and democratic world government?”

That is it: “Yes” or “No.”

There are things I like and don’t like about Mr. Stark’s book. It is short, and I love that. Short books are the way to go in today’s busy, hectic world. Our “24/7/365” pace leaves us with less time to read and contemplate, not more. The book is direct, to the point, and combines deep vision with direct action. Many similar books are either visionary or pragmatic. Few are both. Jim Stark’s book is one of those few.

The language of the book is a bit shrill for me, and the author makes no apologies for it as we approach the tipping point of planetary catastrophe including the real possibility of what he calls “omnicide,” the killing of everything. In fact he seems proud of the word “shrill.” From a marketing standpoint I would have avoided shrillness as a psychological turn-off to any clarion call.

I also take issue with assuming the best form of democratic government is going to be a European-style parliamentary form vs. the American three-way checks and balances system. I myself have not made up my mind which system would be best for humanity. Both systems have their pros and cons.

It would be best to leave such deliberation up to wisdom councils to sort out and a planetary constitutional convention followed by another referendum on that. I would imagine the best and brightest among us to evolve something even more evolved than what we have now. This is especially pertinent these days. Over many years we have experienced the paralysis and fragmentation inherent in parliamentary systems and the abuses and creeping “stealth” despotism that mar the American system.

Jim Stark is upfront, of course, as favoring the Canadian system, which is indeed among the better ones on Earth, as he is Canadian and thus more familiar with it. The fundamental issue of the people taking public control of the Money Power is not addressed in the book. Such an important economic and financial issue must be addressed. For now, however, let’s vote in this referendum!

These are all mere quibbles, however, quibbles. The greater priority is to get this referendum going worldwide. And that means starting locally.

Many will oppose us from all directions. There are those who desire world government all right, but not a democracy and certainly not a democratic republic or global cooperative. They are the architects, financiers, builders, and guardians of Empire. As such these people work hard to create a financial and political planetary dictatorship. It is a fascist regime disguised as “democracy.”

Neo-fascists and neo-feudalists don’t call themselves such, for they often consider themselves at least in public “pro-freedom” and advocate for “free elections” and “free markets.” They’ve learned from the Totalitarian experiences of the 20th Century to take dictatorship and dress it up all pretty as “democracy” with “liberty.”

There are racists, religious fundamentalists, nationalists, and those in the Corporatocracy and the military-industrial-intelligence complex who will oppose democratic world government as a threat to their power. There are the quasi-libertarian conspiracy theory kooks who recognize the above menaces as real, which they are, but collapse every move toward a democratic world federation as part of the One World Government conspiracy.

These me-firsters make no distinction between the forces of what author/activist David Korten calls Global Empire and Earth Community. Instead these freedom-without-responsibility types denigrate concepts of universal human rights and universal social responsibility.

There are also the capitalists who still cling to illusions of a free and unregulated marketplace and the communists who cling to the dictatorship of the proletariat as central state control who will oppose this. And there are the Anarchists who naively believe in no government or hierarchy at all but loose networks of individuals and neighborhoods cooperating together without competition and violence.

I would imagine, however, that Jim Stark is right in his statistics-based assumption the majority of human beings would prefer a transparent, democracy world government of liberty, peace, health, and prosperity. And if the chance to vote in favor of such occurred most would vote “Yes.”

The one significant move I wished Jim Stark and his colleagues could have done differently is insert the word “democratic” into the name of his organization and website, as in “Vote Democratic World Government.” So many people, even if they laugh at the far-right wing conspiracy kooks, are still leery of the term “world government,” fear global tyranny, and view the term “One World Government” as scary and ominous. Maybe Mr. Stark tried and the term was already copyrighted, the domain name taken, or it was viewed as too lengthy to effectively market. And we set aside differences to work together now. One step at a time, breathing as we go, we go. Now.

And this Global Referendum to vote for a democratic world government is hands-down the best, most effective tool we have to leverage people and technology around the world in service of Earth and humanity. So go vote, and I encourage all of you to vote “Yes!”

Again, go here and vote: http://www.voteworldgovernment.org/. (***Note: That link was left there on record for historic purposes. Please vote here now: https://voteworldparliament.org/.)

Declare yourself for Democratic World Government. We can work together to determine what we want it to look and function. And join me in thanking Jim Stark and his team for such a great book, a brilliant concept, and a hands-on nuts-and-bolts approach to implement their vision. Jim Stark and all of you at Vote World Government, thank you.

Bibliography:

Stark, Jim. Rescue Plan for Planet Earth: Democratic World Government through a Global Referendum. Toronto, Canada: The Key Publishing House, 2008.

 

William Dudley Bass
8 March 2009
Revised and reposted 11 January 2012
Seattle, Washington
Cascadia

NOTE: This essay was first published as “Vote Yes! For Democratic World Government” in my earlier current affairs blog, At the Brink with William Dudley Bass on 8 March 2009 at, http://atthebrinkwithwilliamdudleybass.blogspot.com/2009/03/vote-yes-for-democratic-world.html. It has been revised, rewritten, and re-published here this January 2012.)

Remember to vote and please vote “YES!” right here now at https://voteworldparliament.org/. Thank you.

Copyright © 2009, 2012, 2016 by William Dudley Bass. All Rights Reserved until we Humans establish Wise Stewardship of and for our Earth and Solarian Commons. Thank you.

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