A Constitution for the Federation of Earth (Session 2)

Who should hold the power to stop a war, disarm a nation or protect an ocean? The second session took up that question through the Constitution’s Preamble and Articles 1 to 9. Glen T. Martin, who wrote the commentary, was present.

Discussion Highlights

Glen T. Martin walked through the Preamble and the first nine articles. He read the Preamble as built on interdependence. Humanity is one despite its diversity, and the Earth’s resources should serve human welfare. He then described the Federation’s functions. They are preventing war, securing disarmament, protecting human rights and the environment, and ending poverty. He also covered the sovereignty of the people and a World Parliament of three houses. An executive would be led by a five-member presidium, a small leadership council, with no veto. A system of world courts completes the design.

Questions came after each article. One member found the list of functions daunting, and asked whether the Federation should start with a few tasks to win trust. Martin answered that the problems are linked, and pointed to the checks built into each organ. Others asked how large the staff and budget would be, and whether the text is a blueprint or a draft. Some asked whether an expanded European Union could be a first step, and whether the World Parliament holds too much power. One member asked how a “new world system” differs from a “new world order”. Martin answered that the second names a world run by global banking and multinational corporations. The first, he said, is its democratic alternative.

Quotations are taken from the recording’s automatic captions.

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