I said, "Cameroon."
"Oh," said the cyclist as he took off ahead of me. "I love those coconut cookies."
This got me thinking about nation states. No world problem (the environment, terrorism, infectious diseases, computer crime) can be solved by national governments. Here are the questions from a WorldCitizen website:
- Does the nation-state still play a significant role in global relations?
- Has it lost its power and influence in a globalized society?
- Is it an out-dated concept that needs to be replaced?
- and ask, how do we get from where we are to where we need to be? I have a feeling that the Occupy Wall Street Movement - that by October 15 will involve at least 650 locations - is related to a global need to work together towards more fairness.Read their one demand.I applaud their demands and their list of grievances. They seem to be modelling themselves after the women who met in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848 with a list of demands and a list of grievances. It took 150 years, but most of the demands of early feminists have now been met by western democracies.
While I applaud the spirit of the Occupiers -- and I think that "we're mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more" is a fine point of departure -- I don't believe they'll accomplish much in their current state.
ReplyDeleteRight now, they're like a fish trying to ride a bicycle (if I may re-purpose a metaphor). Trying to influence highly structured entities like governments and corporations while eschewing structure isn't going to get very far.
They must become more like the things they hate. (The world is full of cruel ironies.)