Message-ID: <Pine.A41.3.95b.970210133851.43028C-100000 Date: Mon, 10 Feb 1997 13:43:13 -0800 From: Thor Skov <mailto:raijin@U.WASHINGTON.EDU> Subject: Re: THEORY To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
I agree with much of what Richard wrote:
On Fri, 7 Feb 1997, Richard Flyer wrote:
> On Thu, 6 Feb 1997, steve worth wrote:
> > >
> > I submit that the most 'praxis' thing we can do right now is to
> > unite the world, establish a global society, with a global government.
> > It is step one in resolving the problem... everything else becomes
> > possible and practical after that..
> caught my eye.
>
> Why do we assume that a centralized world government given today's
> realities is the best thing?
>
> I may be a minority here on this list, but unless humans have mass
> individual awakenings to the actual fact of "unity", why would a world
> government be any better than say the current state of national
> governments with their corruption and elitism?
>
> I see a big difference bewteen developing a global society and building
> a global government.
>
> How do we develop a global society? IMHO this would be a globe of
> villages, neighborhoods, and local communities united by different bonds
> than the tenous political bonds of our current "world order."
>
> These new bonds would not be some political ideology, but an actual and
> tangible experience by many people of the reality of unity of humankind.
>
> Peace,
>
> Richard
>
> http://home.earthlink.net/~rflyer/index.html
>
The construction of a global civil society is happening, parallel to and imbricated in the state system, but not dependent on the state system. There is a good book called, "Environmental Activism in World Civic Politics," by Paul Wapner, which explores the role of international environmental NGOs in disseminating globally an ecological sensibility. This type of sensibility is an example of the 'tangible experience' Richard mentions above.
Thor Skov