Ultimate Democracy

The only way to wrest the future of our planet from control by the 2%,

who now own 50% of its wealth and whose greed and lust for power are stealing the future from us and our children, is through planetary democracy. And the only way to wrest the future of our planet from the militarized sovereign nation-states in insane rivalry economic and military rivalry with one another is also through planetary democracy.  Real democracy for the Earth involves a paradigm shift from fragmentation to holism.  That is what the Earth is in the middle of right now, but whether it can happen rapidly enough to save a decent future for our children is very much an open question.

Contrary to popular (largely naive) progressive opinion,

democracy cannot flourish at the micro level unless it simultaneously exists at the macro (planetary) level.  For democracy at the micro level will always become victim to external forces (big capital, imperial nations, terror organizations, external corruption, etc.) that will compromise the local level, dictating militarization, security-oriented 'secret' government, or excessive police empowerment, all of which corrupt and ultimately defeat democracy.

Ultimately, if the people of Earth want a future for themselves and their children,

 they will have to take control of the planet democratically (as the vast majority) and ratify an Earth Constitution that represents the common good of the overwhelming majority, not the self-interests of the few. The Constitution for the Federation of Earth already gives us a blueprint for an effective planetary democracy capable of dealing with the multiple global crises we are facing in a holistic and timely manner.

This emphasis on ultimate democracy by no means excludes the fact that

 a few highly intelligent and ethical persons who now control power or wealth can help in this process.  Indeed, it may be essential that a few persons of integrity defect, so to speak, from their class and power interests and support the foundation of a new democratic paradigm for humankind and a new world system holistically and ethically conceived, no longer established on unaccountable wealth and power.

Only human voting by the majority can ratify the Earth Constitution,

 but persons of exceptional character who now possess wealth and power can clearly help in the process. The World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA) that sponsors the Earth Constitution understands the necessity of this two pronged approach.  We need the support of a few exceptional persons and we need broad support of the people of Earth.

We are passing ecological, nuclear, and other points of no return

so rapidly that there really is no other practical option for creating a decent future for our children.  We must join together, in joy, hope, and solidarity, and make sure the ratification takes place in the reasonably near future. Not only do our children's lives depend on this, our moral and intellectual integrity as human beings also demands this intelligent, practical, and effective course of action.

Let us think, breathe, and live ultimate democracy. 

For there will either be a future of ultimate democracy, or there will be no future.  The choice is ours, and it must be made now!

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To achieve ultimate democracy we must understand and overcome three major problems facing humankind. 

 First, we must understand that democracy can never exist under an unrestrained capitalist system in which production and investment are directed toward ever-increasing the wealth of the ownership class who then use their immense wealth to colonize the political processes in all countries in their own interests. This means that all countries on Earth today are oligarchies, ruled by the rich, either as outright dictatorships or as “democracies” in a merely empty, formal sense.

 Second, we must understand that democracy can never exist within a planet divided into some 193 militarized nation-states in economic, political, and military competition with one another. Every militarized national security state destroys democracy within itself through secrecy, internal corruption, and elite, top-down decision-making.  Simultaneously, every militarized national security state destroys democracy in all other such states by forcing them into the militarized ‘defensive’ mode, by allying with undemocratic elements (such as dictatorships) for national security reasons, and by operating internationally from a ‘war’ and ‘enemy’ perspective that destroys democratic freedom and openness everywhere on our planet.

 Third, we must understand that democracy can never exist within a planetary environment hopelessly degraded with respect to the life-support resources that everyone needs—clean water, arable land for crops, a healthy ecological resource base. When these resources become scarce and degraded, they become ever-more available only to those with great wealth and power. Nor can democracy ever exist on a planet that cannot control its exploding population so that the number of people in relation to the resource base of the planet becomes unsustainable and the source of endless war and conflict.  Nor can democracy exist on a militarized planet with unending arms races everywhere, and the spreading availability of weapons of war (including weapons of mass destruction) everywhere.

 In relation to the first problem, traditional market-socialist thinkers like U.S. professor Richard Wolff advocate worker ownership and direction of productive enterprises, in other words, there can be no democracy unless we have economic democracy. Economic democracy is the foundation of all authentic democracy.  Wolff writes: “All of the workers in enterprises—those directly producing outputs and those providing support services enabling production—would collectively become directors deciding what, where, and how to produce and how to distribute the appropriated surpluses.” (Democracy at Work, 2012: 12). Wolff speaks of this as the solution to the crisis of capitalism within the United States. But he is silent on the two other gigantic elephants in the room: the system of militarized nation-states and the global crises (numbers two and three above).

  “Democracy,” in its deepest meaning, has always stood for truly human solutions to our human problems.  That is, solutions to our fundamental problems that benefit everyone—that respect the rights and dignity of everyone, not just the few. It indeed requires some basic degree of equity for everyone, not an immense divide between rich and poor.

Since at least the 18^th century, “everyone” has come more and more to mean everyone on the planet.  All human beings have the right to flourish in freedom, peace, and dignity, not just citizens of the United States or any other country.  If the U.S. adopts Wolff’s solution and becomes a worker-run economic democracy, what about military defense of the country?  If this is still necessary, then the worker’s democracy will not work since the government will need secrecy, national security, and most resources drained away from the citizens into vast military systems.  What about weapons of mass destruction continually developed by rival countries like Russia or China?  It immediately becomes clear that democracy cannot work in the U.S. unless these problems are addressed through world democracy.

 The same is true of continuing climate collapse, population explosion, worldwide pollution, and the diminishing of basic resources needed to support life on our planet.  Worker’s democracy in one country won’t even begin to address these huge, ever-increasing problems that we face on a planetary scale.

 Today, holism is the basic insight deriving from all the social and natural sciences: social holism (we are all the same: an interdependent species of homo sapiens), environmental holism (the planet has one, interdependent ecosystem), and cosmic holism (the universe is one, undivided whole encompassing a diversity of interdependent natural phenomena).  The only way to address these lethal problems that threaten our future is through holism, which means ultimate democracy—a democratic world system addressing all these problems and integrating all people into a democratic regime of rights and responsibilities (institutionalized democratic social holism).

 Either we have ultimate democracy, that is, democracy for everyone under the Earth Constitution, or we have no viable future at all on this planet. Ultimate democracy is not one option—it is our only option. 

Please support the Institute on World Problems and the World Constitution and Parliament Association. They are the spokespersons for holistic, ultimate democracy in today’s world.

You can donate to these organizations through Paypal.

Every donation of $20 or more receives a free, postpaid copy of World Revolution through World Law by Glen T. Martin

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