I don’t have time to get into all the details, though I have actually thought this all out to a very great degree. I think most of this will come out in commentary and need not turn my post into a full-on thesis. This is my proposal for a new world government.
I got to thinking, when we finally dissolve all the borders and governments and need to create something anew, what would be the best way to go about it? What exactly are the fundamental necessities in the structuring of a community? What things can be held in balance and opposition to another? What things can be entirely redacted from what we have currently? What things would, even if we tried to remove them, worm their way back in? These last in particular need to find a comfortable home in the new world order, or they will be the very things that will ultimately destroy it through weakening foundations.
I can’t explicate my full thought process. It’s easier to start with conclusions. The new branches of the government would be as such:
The Department of Resources
The Department of Conscience
The Department of Efficiency
These could be read in parallel as:
The Economic Branch
The Religious Branch
The Administrative Branch
Now, I will quickly describe the functions of all three and then open it up for debate.
The economic branch has control over the collection, allocation, and distribution of resources. As the overseer of money, they would serve as the regulatory branch for all commerce and taxation (which would including banking and trade markets, if in fact we find these things in their current form to be relevant to our future world). All ‘natural’ resources, particularly those which are ‘limited’ (I’m not sure what isn’t limited, but you know what I mean) would be considered part of public domain. Profiteering through cartel, monopoly, or hoarding of any kind would be eliminated. They also have an indirect means of operating as a check-and-balance against the other branches, via the withholding of resource they deem to be used inappropriately.
The religious branch (just bear with me, Atheists, it really does make sense), is chartered with oversight for all decisions the species makes about the use and future of their planet. Recognizing that elimination of religion is impossible, it should rather be used constructively for all those purposes for which religion initially arose in human communities. As the guiding conscience of the community, it is in control of the justice system, education (in which I have some other radical updates to propose), medicine, and other social programs. It would encompass the functions of the EPA. It houses the elections board as well, administrates ‘citizenship’ (another radically altered term and purpose) and so on. It would have representatives of all faiths (including those ‘without’), but all of them would be charged with a single task - to make sure that the species does the right thing. The metaphysical beliefs of any given faith should be irrelevant. The check-and-balance of this branch would be in their power to veto other branches actions as being ‘immoral’ in the eyes of the community. This should be the most democratic of the branches.
The administrative branch serves a few purposes. First is as an anti-bureaucracy machine. Their job is to investigate the functions both of the other branches and of all private institution for red tape, essentially to streamline the world, but always with the understanding of the line between streamlining and enabling. Enabling crosses the line over into wastefulness of a different sort, but the guys over in the department of resources are ready to point out when that line’s been crossed. Another administrative duty is in legislative matters. Law in general would be a function of all three branches, but it would be up to the administrators to codify and enforce the laws.
The purpose of this proposed structure is to recognize what the most fundamental functions of a community are, and to sanction them within a codified structure that would be functional on a macro-(worldwide)-level. The one I am least sure on is the administrative (the other two I am certain are absolutely irreducible insofar as the needs of the community are concerned).
Other logistical points:
Education up to age 12 (the age is debatable but I think the rite of passage should be concomitant with puberty) is based on teaching children what it means to be a citizen of the world, what responsibilities and duties they will have, and so on. This is a preparation for adulthood, not a rote exercise of contextless information broken down into units of ‘indians’, ‘dinosaurs’, ‘space’ and so on as we have now. Upon graduating this 12th year, the class is recognized in full public ceremony to be adult, responsible for their own actions, and full, unconditional citizens of the world. For the sake of the community spirit involved (much more visible in tribal cultures but subsequently lost), this yearly event should be accompanied by festival, feast, and holiday. I propose a full weekend each year, if not a whole week. After the age of 12, citizens are encouraged to continue their education such that they might become increasingly prepared and capable of serving their community. Education will never be viewed as having an ‘endpoint’. It will be encouraged (and applauded) throughout lifetimes of individuals. Our feeble notion of adulthood and failure to recognize the crossing of that line in our children is a major loss to the psyche which was suffered somewhere in the transition from ‘tribe’ to ‘nation’. I would like to see it returned.
Voting will be REQUIRED of all citizens. I see something like a governmental email account connected to each citizen. No ‘bots’ can futz things up because accounts are only created for real people who are certified to exist, to be 12 years of age or above, and to have completed the citizenship education requirements. This ‘email’ will introduce issues and allow for replies of ‘yes’ ‘no’ or ‘no vote’ (perfectly acceptable, but must be deliberately chosen, not just ignored). Email will link to all relevant information and research regarding the issue, and to message boards in which it can be discussed and debated among other citizens. In this way, law will become both more organic and more representative of the will of the people. It will also be less susceptible to punditry, lobbying, pork-barreling, and so on. Every day administrative stuff will be taken care of by the various branches, but every decision thereof will at least be noted so that everyone is aware of what’s going on. Major legislation and elections will not defer to representatives. All citizens will be heard.
Conscription of service to the community (the new operative word for our ‘government’) will be required for all citizens. They will spend at least one year in service. This is sort of an extension/combination of military conscription and jury duty. Placement will be in large part based on the kind of further education one has engaged in, but requests and applications to specific duties are encouraged.
Military/policing - each branch would have its own enforcement arm (another check and balance). Their duties should be held as sacred. These are noble warriors, whose goal is always to use their skills to settle conflict peacefully. Since ultimately no branch can survive without the other two, the system should never degenerate into open conflict. Imagine something like the military, the police, and the CIA all sharing information and working together on issues. That would be nice wouldn’t it? Selflessness, compassion, and honor are their most treasured characteristics.
That’s all for now. Clearly there’s a vast amount of detail to be fleshed out. But go on, kill it then…
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Or rather, I will choose to ignore that it was not.