# The State Of The World State ideal



## J-WO (Dec 26, 2012)

*"In our opinion there are three things of which fandom can be  proud. The first is its sense of humour, the second - coincident with this - is its toleration of eccentric individuals, and the last is that practically every fan is a world-stater."

*So says issue one of 'Fantast', a British SF fanzine from 1939 They're currently being archived online *here.* (_A fascinating source BTW, a real keyhole into pre-war fandom life. Feels curiously like some steampunk world's version of SFF Chronicles_).

My question is, are we, for the main, still world staters? By which I mean someone who sees some future world government--however far in the future and by whatever preferred ethos and outlook--as essentially a good thing? Are we talking Gene's Federation or George's Oceania here?

I suspect, given our position on the other side of the historical fence to 1939, the demographic landscape might be very different.


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## Abernovo (Dec 26, 2012)

Of course it depends what you mean by world state.

*starts whistling John Lennon's *Imagine**


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## alchemist (Dec 26, 2012)

Until we find aliens we can hate/fear/blame i.e. outsiders, whose existence makes us realise how similar we all are, I can't see it happening, and if it happens, can't see it being a Gene situation. Gene had said aliens, of course, and George didn't.


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## Warren_Paul (Dec 27, 2012)

I don't see how giving one government system full control over the entire would could end in anything but disaster. 

It's bad enough in individual countries, but when the entire world is in the palm of their hands, it's got to go to their heads. One person, or group of people, having too much control will always be a bad thing.

Look at the NRA in the USA at the moment. That's the outcome of a select few people having too much control. Imagine that on a world scale.


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## Boneman (Dec 28, 2012)

Unless you had a truly benevolent dictatorship, it would be doomed to fail due to one word: corruption. Look at the EU...


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## thaddeus6th (Dec 28, 2012)

I agree with Boneman.


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## JoanDrake (Dec 30, 2012)

I think we already have a world state. The bankers run the world in actual fact, and the governments are all just window dressing.

The biggest Army in the world doesn't have any power at all if you can't pay its soldiers.

It's not that bad either, cause war is bad for business under those circumstances, so I guess I'm for it.


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## RJM Corbet (Dec 30, 2012)

alchemist said:


> Until we find aliens we can hate/fear/blame i.e. outsiders, whose existence makes us realise how similar we all are, I can't see it happening ...



Exactly. Tribes fight each other, but unite against a common predator, or to become the predator. There's no such thing as standing still in nature. If you're not growing, you're dying. It's sad but it's true. Also a world state implies a world currency, so the whole import/export balance goes out the window.

So: no


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## J-WO (Dec 31, 2012)

Thanks for voting guys. If the results are anything to go by then, yes, the outlook of SFF fans to the subject has shifted dramatically in the last 70 years or so. Personally, I'm a bit old school, clinging to the (admittedly evidenceless) notion that, somehow, humans could maybe one day get over their basest proclivities and get together amicably. But it's one of those topics where I can totally respect the opposite opinion- our species track record does seem to bear it out!


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## Tyler Danann (Dec 31, 2012)

No, never, begone!

Is my answer to ANY world state.  I am passionate about this subject as it is something I write about and it ALWAYS leads to tyranny.

A free republic, isolationist countries not bowing down to socialism is the cornerstone for any successful world.
To have otherwise is not natural.


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## Harpo (Dec 31, 2012)

A World State would have to include every rebellious group - it'll never happen.


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## Southern Geologist (Jan 10, 2013)

Warren_Paul said:


> I don't see how giving one government system full control over the entire would could end in anything but disaster.
> 
> It's bad enough in individual countries, but when the entire world is in the palm of their hands, it's got to go to their heads. One person, or group of people, having too much control will always be a bad thing.
> 
> Look at the NRA in the USA at the moment. That's the outcome of a select few people having too much control. Imagine that on a world scale.



While I think the NRA is a terrible example of the problem of one group having too much power, I agree with everything else here.  I am definitely not in favor of a one-world government.


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## Gordian Knot (Jan 10, 2013)

History is chock full of examples of the evil that groups with too much power can do. It is also lacking, sorely lacking, of many examples to the contrary. We as a species do not do well to consolidate too much power in a small group of individuals. Yet we as a species seem fated to do so over and over again.

I wouldn't go so far as to say a secret world controlling cabal is already in existence, though I do believe one is well on its way to coming together.

The new world order that will end up controlling the fate of all of us has no geographic boundaries, bars no nationalities, no races, no religions. To be a member one has to have but one thing. Money. Lots and lots of money. The super rich of the world have become, and consider themselves, the Entitled Elite, and more and more, they band together as a group to keep their wealth (and power) in their own hands.

That they are well on their way to domination is nowhere as well shown as the bankers in the U.S. who knowingly destroyed the American economy. Put us back almost to another Great Depression for no other reason than pure greed.

And what happened to these evil men? What is the punishment for killing the economy of an entire nation? Not only are they not punished. They are allowed to keep their jobs, and are allowed to continue amassing their fortunes.

Money is power. Never has the term been so appropriate.


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