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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, with the author present.
About the Book
A Constitution for the Federation of Earth: With Historical Introduction, Commentary and Conclusion presents the Earth Constitution drafted and ratified by the World Constituent Assemblies between 1968 and 1991, with Glen T. Martin’s commentary on its design: a World Parliament, a world judiciary, enforceable world law and the protection of human rights and the planet’s ecology. The World Citizen Book Club read the Constitution over five monthly sessions in 2021.
About the Author
Glen T. Martin is a professor of philosophy at Radford University and president of the World Constitution and Parliament Association, which has promoted the Earth Constitution since the 1970s. He has written widely on world federation, democratic world law and the philosophy of global citizenship.
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 (preventing war, securing disarmament, protecting human rights and the environment, ending poverty), the sovereignty of the people, a World Parliament of three houses, an executive led by a five-member presidium with no veto, and a system of world courts.
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, whether the text is a blueprint or a draft, whether an expanded European Union could be a stepping stone, whether the World Parliament holds too much power, and how a “new world system” differs from a “new world order.”