For more than a century now the most famous topic in our history textbooks has remained the revolutions that have successfully resulted in national democracy, where every human is treated equally. And though democracy isn’t flawless, it has still helped in greater economic growth, a fair share of power to everyone, and overall development.
But imagine, if this practice was extended to the entire world, instead of limited to within a country, how much brighter the future would be!
The only organisations that unite all the countries of the world today are biased in some way or the other, a far cry from being democratic. Placing five countries above all the rest in the UN, and giving top priority to just 10 countries among the hundreds in the World Bank, are grossly undemocratic, even dictatorial and repressive. Today the richest countries suppress and dominate third-world ones in an undeclared, subtle way.
And, of course, we have the single reigning ‘super-power’.
In short, we do not have a democratic world.
For world democracy, we’d need a worldwide government, with the heads of every country constituting the world parliament, each member with the same say in every matter and the same power. The leader, of whatever nationality, must act as a mediator in the parliament, in which the decision-making rights must reside. The sense of being a citizen of the world must be boosted, and every person must see himself first as a global citizen.
World democracy must be secular, like the truest of democracies are, and it should concentrate on improving health and education in the less developed countries, its resources levied from some part of every nation’s income. The ideals of the French revolution should be extended to liberty, equality, and fraternity of every country. When a country is in distress other countries must rush to its aid, as if it were part of their own territory, instead of simply ‘condemning’ the unfortunate event, the way they do today.
All this can only be brought about by inculcating in every youth the spirit of world citizenship and international kinship.
There must be an independent international judiciary to oversee the smooth functioning of all international organisations and sort out disputes.
World democracy will not just lead to a more equal and just life for every human being, even those born in an economically underdeveloped place, but will also help strengthen the entire human race — united, we stand stronger than ever. Because whichever country we may belong to we are, after all, one species. If we don’t want to face our own extinction this is a necessary step.
This isn’t going to be an easy task, and requires much more than this single voice; it requires all of our thoughts and a mutual understanding. Perhaps then, in a few decades, people will be able to live in a truly free, cohesive and fair world.
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