"Who will lead and control your reformation in perpetuity?"

I was recently asked to send, to some friends, my essay, "Towards the right kind of globalisation: why it does not happen - and what to do about it" (BTW, this is available for free download at: http://academia.edu/3512154/Towards_the_Right_Kind_of_Globalization_Why_it_does_not_happen_-_and_what_to_do_about_it)

On reading it, two friends asked me the question: "Who will lead and control your reformation in perpetuity?".

Well, for a start, it wasn't intended to be "my" revolution, but they clearly meant the "revolution" of which I was writing :)

But, seriously, the answer is briefly, that "the least worst form of government is one where there is a division of powers, with mutual checks and balances but where each division is committed to a substantialist rather than merely formalist understanding of the rule of law" (definition mine - just in case you are interested).

In practice, the voluntary association of nations, such as we have at present, where each commits to global rules and binding arbitration by an independent but mutually-recognised authority, is best.

That is, for example, how the internet functions, that is how global telecoms functions, that is how the world meteorological system functions, and so on.

So, you may ask, if so many things are functioning already, what more do we need?

The more that we need to operate under similar systems and rules is precisely what is laid out in the article.

What does not work well at present is that member-nations are reluctant to throw out of the club those nations (such as China) who sign "binding principles, rules and commitments" and then proceed to flout them comprehensively and thoroughly.

For that challenge, the solution was articulated some centuries ago: "It is the common fate of the indolent to see their rights become a prey to the active. The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance" (in case you are interested, that's from John Philpot Curran in 1790; though Curran was merely paraphrasing the Jewish Bible).

In other words, it is the work of citizens, such as you and I to keep ourselves, concerned, informed, and active in fighting the aberrations that will inevitably occur, given that human beings (including you and I) are often greedy, lustful, self-indulgently given to pelf and power, and so on. Sphere: Related Content