- This event has passed.
Union Now by Clarence K. Streit (Session 4)
The World Citizen Book Club concluded its four-part exploration of Clarence K. Streit’s landmark 1939 work Union Now on January 14, 2023. This final session covered Chapters 11–13, in which Streit presented his most ambitious arguments for why the world’s democracies should move swiftly to form a federal union.
About the Book
Union Now: A Proposal for a Federal Union of the Leading Democracies was published in 1939 by American journalist Clarence K. Streit. Writing on the eve of World War II, Streit proposed that fifteen leading democracies form a federal union modeled on the American constitutional system. The book argued that such a union would be so powerful that authoritarian regimes would not dare challenge it, thereby preventing global conflict. Over time, other nations could join, eventually leading to a world federation. The book sold more than 300,000 copies and became a cornerstone of the world federalist movement.
About the Author
Clarence K. Streit (1896–1986) was an American journalist who covered the League of Nations in Geneva for The New York Times. Witnessing the League’s disintegration firsthand, he became convinced that a federal union of democracies was humanity’s best hope for lasting peace. His work inspired the founding of Federal Union, Inc. and continues to influence democratic federalist thought through the Streit Council.
Discussion Highlights
The final session examined Streit’s concluding chapters, where he urged democracies to act decisively in creating an initial world federation. Participants discussed his argument that a union of democracies would generate such collective strength—economically, militarily, and morally—that non-member nations would inevitably seek to join. The group reflected on Streit’s vision in light of contemporary challenges to democratic governance and multilateral cooperation.
