Governing the Planet

"I believe that national sovereignty will shrink in the face of universal interdependence." ~ Explorer, diver and conservationist, Jacques Cousteau

Imagine a roadway through an ancient village, with houses on either side - a few big houses, owned by the rich, as well as modest middle-class homes. One day, after renovating his house, one of the rich residents throws his old unwanted furniture and out on the side of the road. Poor people take away some of the furniture, but some of it remains.

Soon after, one of the more modest neighbors has some old stuff that he leaves on the street, too. Soon other neighbors on the road are putting their old stuff out, too. Poor people come and take some of it, but before long the street is becoming clogged with junk. It's hard to even walk down the road. People trying to use the road are upset. Some blame the first rich person who started it all. Others blame the neighbors who put out more stuff and actually blocked the road.

Can the residents resolve this crisis on their own? Or does it require the intervention of a higher authority? Local governments were set up as social mechanisms purely because certain decisions affecting a set of citizens cannot be left to the citizens themselves; people must cede power to a higher authority to lay down the rules and enforce them. This has been the principle behind all forms of governments.

Let's zoom forward to the 21st century and air quality. We have the USA trying to take the lead in arriving at a global consensus. However, the US Congress is unlikely to pass a Carbon-Cap bill until 2010, if at all. India has agreed to keep the per capita emissions below that of the developed nations, while China has agreed to cut emissions per unit of GDP. These concessions are inadequate since the planet may not be able to accommodate China and India reaching even 50% of the US per capita emission levels.

Amid the political posturing and wrangling, greenhouse gases continue to block the earth's atmosphere at unprecedented levels, compromising our future generations. Can the current approach - leaving the future of the earth to independent sovereign states - produce quick and decisive action? Apparently not: at the Pittsburgh summit, the G20 nations dropped the December climate control deadline. This lack of urgency is troubling, and dangerous.

Just as humanity invented governments and governance at a tribal village level, expanding to larger states and finally to nation states, is it not time that we looked at world government to tackle specific issues? In line with principle of Subsidiarity, decision-making needs to happen at the lowest appropriate level. But decisions that impact the world as a whole need to be ceded up to the world government - matters like environment, global financial regulations and global peace. What form will these global governments take? Will we need to create new institutions by function or as a broad based body that handles all common issues?

What kind of legislative and enforcement powers will be effective? These questions, and more, must be answered - the sooner the better - if we want a sustainable planet. I look forward to your continued engagement and participation to create the burning platform for action.
Source: EzineArticles.com