Orion Digest №10 — A Proposal For Regional Economies

Before we can answer the question of how a world federation would be setup, we must first determine what would be the setup of an ideal member nation. I admit that, as a citizen of the U.S., my views on government and economy are somewhat biased, being raised to believe that this structure was all that was necessary, and that we were the ‘best nation on Earth.’ Nationalist rhetoric aside, I have come to both criticize and admire aspects of my home country, particularly it’s original design via the Constitution.

The flaws in any nation are always best solved from the foundation, and a good founding document that provides protections against tyranny sets itself up for stability in the future. The system of checks and balances and the multi-house system of legislative government are two aspects of the U.S. Constitution that I think still have some use in future governments, because they operate off of a basic idea — there will always be a chance that one person, group, or party will try to gain power and abuse it, so government must be split and accountable, as well as dependent on input from the people.

For those unfamiliar, I will summarize — the legislative branch of the U.S. government is composed of two houses, each that contribute to the law-making progress, and that are composed of representatives from all over the nation. The House of Representatives is population-based representation (the number of Representatives an area gets is determined by how many people live there), while the Senate has two Senators for every state, regardless of size. The system of checks and balances, on the other hand, refers to authorities and limitations on each branch of government, tied to the other branches in order to make sure each piece keeps the others in line. No side is able to get too much power, because the others can limit what they do, and keep seizure of power at bay.

Now, although the government itself is rather balanced out, external organizations seem to cause most of the issues we see today — large, power-hungry corporations, and bloated, gridlocked political parties. The Republican and Democratic Parties did not exist when the Constitution was put to paper, and are not an official part of the U.S. Government, yet they exert almost singular authority over the operations of the nation. Right or wrong, they are considered the only viable options, and if you want anything done in government, you had better hope that one of them wants it too. Theoretically, other parties could rise and fight for dominance, but no ‘third-party’ has ever been able to stand against such juggernauts, and even the Supreme Court has began making decisions about whether third-party candidates should be allowed if they disrupt the two-party balance.

In the economic side of things, the competition for the largest corporations is rapidly dwindling, and anti-monopolistic action has been minimal on the part of the government (no surprise — where would our politicians be without the benefactors that bankroll them?). With no affront to their power, there is little workers can do but hope that their employers are merciful, and mercy does not make a profit. The pursuit of money in general has hindered our politics, as marketing and alliances and support during campaigns all come down to how much the party is willing to spend on a candidate, and whether they think said candidate is a good investment. If they might risk losing money and time, it doesn’t matter the ideals of a candidate — they aren’t important. Joe Biden, the newest addition to the Presidential line, is close enough to familiarity that he provided a safe bet for the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party is known as progressive, but they are just as in it for the money and prestige of having supreme authority over the U.S. as the Republican Party. In the end, both of these centuries old institutions have our political system tied up in knots, and they aren’t doing much to restrict the dangerously authoritarian practices of corporate juggernauts. I don’t think that the momentum we need to bring about change can be mustered up by either of these parties, and I think that to restore democracy in America, these giants will need to be the first to go.

But if we’re discussing renovation, it’s best to take a look at how we can start things on the right track this time, given what we know. My nation might need to be changed someday, if the principles I lay down here today find themselves outdated in say, another 250 years. I fully anticipate that another change will be necessary, and I welcome it. But given what we know now, I think much of the current U.S. political system can be preserved in our hypothetical nation, with a few major differences.

Our hypothetical member nation of a world federation, like all others, answers to the coordination and regulations of the world federation, so it is, of course, a democracy. There is a Congress, with a multi-party House of Representatives, where the people can go and establish policy, as well as a second half of Congress, headed by a new type of Senator that represents the interests of the world federation and progressive policy. Technically a single party branch, this will still be subject to change based on the direction of decisions by the world federation, but overall, the purpose is to balance out the will of the people with a general direction towards eco-friendliness, equal rights, universal human rights and fulfillment of basic survival needs.

Of course, the second house of Congress will be made up of elected representatives from the member nation, who simply work and respond directly to the world federation. The two houses will decide and coordinate policy among each other. The judicial branch, while able to be swayed, is a part of the government that I have no problem with, as it is largely simplistic — uphold the law and interpret the founding documents of the nation. The executive branch, on the other hand, will largely have it’s functions absorbed into the workings of the world federal government (the need for a commander of the Armed Forces or a diplomat is lessened when we’ve achieved peace and work with every nation).

Below these branches of government is a department under the jurisdiction of Congress/Parliament. The Department of the Economy provides a series of regulations and requirements for every business in the nation, and any operating business has to register with the Department to be legitimate. While the businesses will be worker-run (democratic workplace), they will be inspected and reviewed, as well as subordinate to the Department. More essential industries will be managed directly by the Department, with smaller businesses being allowed to be worker-run, state-managed.

The goal here is to keep the workings of a member nation going in a specific direction (given the issues we face, I think moving things along is rather necessary), but to have democracy and input from the people at every stage of the process. A citizen will have a say in the operation of their business, they will get a vote and representation in the Congress that controls and manages the Department of the Economy, and they will be able to also vote and be represented in the world federation, which will manage the Executive House of Congress. There will ultimately be no form of government at any level in a world federation that isn’t subordinate and accountable to the people.

For the most part, a region should be able to run self sufficiently, but the purpose of world federal intervention is to ensure that, if resources need to be allocated from one region of the world to another (famine, natural disaster, etc.), those can be accessed directly by the federal government, cutting through any red tape we are stuck with today. So many obstacles to democracy and progress plague my own nation, and as always, a strong world federation would do well to keep us on track for the future.

- DKTC FL