The All-Earth government

The World Federalist Movement wants and
works towards a cuddlier kind of globalization

INCREMENTAL APPROACH TO ALL OUR WOES: Carol Greene

by CHRISTOPHER HAZOU

“Global problems, like climate change and nuclear issues, need to have global solutions,” says Carol Greene, president of the Montreal branch of the World Federalist Movement Canada, explaining why she believes a unified world government is necessary. “[Besides,] we already have a global government—the global corporate system. We need one which is a little more ethical.”

Star Trek fans notwithstanding, the notion of an international federation goes back at least as far as the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the wake of the first and second world wars, a modern movement arose seeking to create a single world government that would solve disputes and prevent devastating conflicts like the ones that had just engulfed much of the planet. Notable devotees to the idea have included the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, science fiction writer H.G. Wells and the late Sir Peter Ustinov, who served as president of the World Federalist Movement International from 1991 until his death in 2004.

While acknowledging that the concept of an all-powerful world governing body may sound ominous and soul-crushing to some, Greene, a retired teacher, voices a reassuring note, explaining that the proposed polity would be “democratic and accountable.”

“Some people think that we want to take over and become a dictatorship,” she says. “But that’s not at all what we have in mind.”

What they do have in mind is creating an international body similar to the UN, but with balls. One sticking point for those wary of a future dominated by a centralized global authority is bound to be the principle of military intervention when “countries are unwilling or unable to protect their citizens,” something which already has a legal basis in the Responsibility to Protect doctrine (which states that the international community, usually in the form of the UN, can intervene in a country if its government is unable or unwilling to protect its own citizens). “That may loom in some people’s minds as intervention in a sovereign country’s territory, but what is the alternative in [places like] Sudan?” Greene asks. But, she adds, “There’s a whole list of steps, prevention, education, and diplomatic and economic measures that should be undertaken before military action.”

Politically, Greene is reluctant to peg the WFM as leaning to the left or the right. “It’s a reformist movement, so it’s progressive. We’re strongly in favour of human rights and labour and environmental standards,” she says, citing the conflict in Darfur, climate change and UN reform as top priorities.

The Montreal chapter of the WFM Canada hosts bimonthly luncheons where subjects of interest are discussed and an “issues action group” engages in letter writing campaigns to politicians. “It’s a social affair, but with a speaker,” says Greene. This coming month’s topic is “A New Economy for the Common Good,” and features Peter Brown of the McGill School of Environment, and Geoffrey Garver, authors of the recently published Right Relationship: Building a Whole Earth Economy. “It’s very timely,” Greene says. “And it has an extensive section on the need for a global federation.”

And though it might seem like a pipe dream right now, supporters of a world federation point to the International Craiminal Court and supranational institutions like the European Union as evidence that the realization of their goals might not be as far off as first appears. “We’re aware that it’s not going to happen next week or next month,” says Greene. “But we’re working on an incremental approach.”

THE NEXT WFM MONTREAL LUNCHEON
TAKES PLACE THIS SUNDAY, FEB.
1, AT THE CAFÉ DES BEAUX-ARTS’S LE
COLLECTIONEUR DINING ROOM (1384
SHERBROOKE W.), 12:30 P.M., $27
(INCLUDING MEAL). RSVP REQUIRED
BY JAN. 30: (514) 426-4170. FOR MORE
INFO ON THE WFM, VISIT
WORLDFEDERALISTSCANADA.ORG