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Union Now by Clarence K. Streit (Session 3)
On December 10, 2022, the World Citizen Book Club held its third session on Clarence K. Streit’s Union Now, covering Chapters 7–10. These chapters delved into the practical mechanics of how a federal union of democracies could be structured and sustained.
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. The book proposed that fifteen leading democracies form a federal union organized along the lines of the United States Constitution, with shared sovereignty in areas such as defense, trade, and currency, while member nations retained autonomy in domestic affairs. Streit argued this union would prevent war and eventually lead to a world federation as other nations sought to join.
About the Author
Clarence K. Streit (1896–1986) was a New York Times correspondent who covered the League of Nations in Geneva. His firsthand observation of the League’s inability to prevent the rise of totalitarianism convinced him that a more robust form of democratic union was needed. Union Now became one of the most influential works in the world federalist movement.
Discussion Highlights
Session 3 focused on Chapters 7–10, in which Streit detailed how shared governance structures could function among democratic nations. Participants explored his proposals for common defense arrangements, economic integration, and citizenship rights within the proposed union. The discussion also examined how Streit’s mid-century vision compared with subsequent developments such as the European Union and NATO.
