A Constitution for the Federation of Earth (Session 5)

Is it better to draft a complete plan and ask the world to ratify it? Or should the plan stay open to anyone’s rewriting? The closing session took up that question directly, with Glen T. Martin taking questions on the commentary and conclusion.

Discussion Highlights

Martin opened with the next provisional World Parliament. It was then planned for New Delhi in December 2021, subject to the pandemic. He gave examples of its work. The first world legislative act, from 1982, prohibited weapons of mass destruction, and later acts built on it. He stressed that the Constitution itself is not provisional. Only the Parliament is, because the people and nations of the Earth have not yet ratified the text.

Members asked how the Constitution compares with the roughly 150 world constitutions that have been drafted. Some asked whether a text written by earlier generations can feel imposed on people in smaller or poorer countries. Others asked how languages would be handled, and whether Esperanto has a role. Martin pointed to ratification by the people as the answer to imposition. He said the World Parliament would decide official languages. The agenda also included choosing the club’s next book.

The World Citizen Book Club meets online on the second Saturday of each month and is open to anyone, whether you have read the book or not. See what the club is reading next.