P.R. Sarkar lays out the steps need to bring about a world government and explains what obstacles are in the way of this task.
by P.R. Sarkar
{googleads}The multi-coloured garland of humanity will be greatly enriched if varying human groups blend together from a position of strength and independence out of genuine love for their brothers and sister, and not forced together through fear and compulsion.
The colour of casteism, provincialism, communalism or nationalism keeps on fading with the progression of time. Modern people should realise that in the near future they will have to adopt universalism, The well-wishers of society will, then, have to mobilize all their might and intellect in organising a World Government, giving up all consideration of forming communal or national organisations. They will have to concentrate wholly and solely on constructive activities in a simple and straight forward manner, rather than indulging in diplomatic and deceitful utterances.
Many people say that different national interests are the only hurdle in the formation of a world government. this is not the only obstruction; rather, this is just a minor difficulty. The real cause lies in the fear of local leaders losing their leadership. With the establishment of a World Government the powerful influences which they today enjoy in different countries, societies, and in national life, will no longer exist. Different national interests and popular scepticism may hinder the formation of a world government. The progress of this work must be carried on step by step to remove these baseless fears in human minds. Due consideration will, besides have to be given to removing any possible obstacles to the formation of the world government. The world body has to be strengthened step by step and not suddenly. For example, two houses may be formed for an unspecified period of administration. The lower house will comprise representatives from different parts of the world elected on the basis of population, while members of the upper house will be elected country-wise. By this arrangement those countries which cannot send a single representative to the lower house due to their small population, will benefit by expressing their opinions before the people of the world by sending their representatives to the upper house. The upper house will not be able to adopt any resolution unless it has been ratified by the lower house, but it will enjoy the privilege of disallowing the decisions adopted by the lower house.
In this first stage, the world government may act only as a law framing body. It will be vested with framing the rights of implementation or non-implementation of any particular law in any particular region. When the world government is being established, the government of different countries will have only administrative power. As they will not have any power to enact laws arbitrarily, it will not be easy for any government to inflict atrocities on its linguistic, religious or political minorities according to the whims of the governing majority.
With further mechanisation the supremacy of humanity over space and time will gradually increase. The necessity of having a world government will thus, also be felt in the heart of every human being. Gradually the people of one part of the world will have to meet the people of various other parts more frequently, and for this, definite attention will have to be made to create a better understanding between people.
The human race has many languages. Every language is our language, every language is the language of all of us. Feelings such as, "This is my language, that is yours; this is a native language, that is foreign," are extremely defective. Only this much can be said:"We have so many languages and I can express myself in one or more languages from amongst them." In spite of the fact that all languages of the world stand on an equal footing, a common language for the convenient exchange of thoughts between people of different parts of the globe will have to be selected open heartedly as the lingua franca of the world. So long as the world government is not vested with full administrative control over the entire world, local governments in different parts of the world may at their convenience accept the world language or any other local language as their official language. No matter what language is accepted as the official language of the state by any particular government, there should not be any slackness in facilitating the study of the world language. In no case can we keep ourselves aloof from the rest of the world like "frogs in the well'" and break our heads in the darkness keeping ourselves away from our brothers and sisters in the name of nationalism.
All languages are subject to birth and death. Although English is at present an international language, it may not enjoy the same status for an indefinite period. In any particular age only that language which will have the maximum use in different parts of the world will be the lingua franca of the world.
The human race has only one culture. I am not prepared to admit that there are various cultures. Only this much can be said: the dances, songs, pronunciation and ceremonial celebrations of different sections of the human race have their local variations. These local variations in customs and behaviour should not be considered as cultural differences.
The variations in the local conventions of human beings cannot be removed by the force of the law or by dictatorial rule. If in the name of national unity, human unity or nationalism, an attempt is made to bring about the destruction of common practices, languages and various local manners and customs, it will result in violence and mutual distrust and will lead collective life to doom. I am in favour of social synthesis. In may opinion, as the people come in intimate contact with one another and as the corners of the world become nearer, then the local variations of conduct will assume ever new forms as a result of the frequent mixing. The flowers of different gardens will unite into a bouquet and this bouquet will be more beautiful than the individual flowers. If different countries or so-called "human communities" show their zeal for establishing social blending through matrimonial relations, then within a very short period this sort of social synthesis can be achieved. to some extent we notice the concrete reflection of this intermixing in cosmopolitan cities.
The question is, is the establishment of the world government practical without a fight? To this I will reply in the affirmative. The greatest social welfare can be achieved by mobilising the living spirit of those people who are desirous of establishing the world government. Service and constructive work, and not political rivalry, bring about social welfare. One has to remain engaged in the task of social service with all sincerity without having any ulterior motive in mind. It should be understood that only those states which cooperate in these social service activities really want to establish a world government. The people of those states which refuse to cooperate should certainly agitate for the establishment of a world government.
P.R. Sarkar is the founder of Renaissance Universal. He wrote extensively about society and culture. This article is an excerpt from the essay "Problem of the Day," compiled in Prout in a Nutshell, Part 3, Ananda Marga Publications, Calcutta, 1987.
This article was published in New Renaissance magazine Vol.4 No.3