Newsletter No 4. EarthTrek
Every day it becomes more evident that the global market requires a global citizenship. Kofi Annan.
An Australian trip on mixed business and pleasure has resulted in a week’s delay in this newsletter – which is still lacking a permanent title. What are opinions on this one? It is taken from a suggestion made in a different context by a new member from Canada, Jim Stark, of whom more later.
Recruitment. The past month has been one of relative inactivity as far as recruitment goes. Until we have finalised a strategy, and have decided for what purpose, and therefore whom, we wish to recruit in these early stages, recruitment will remain on the back-burner. In the meantime, I have continued at a slow pace building up Sapiens’ links with other mundalist organizations. You will see the results on our Links page.
Sapiens Promise. Our satellite site, www.sapienspromise.org is now on the way to further development. I have recruited three part-time researchers to collect the names of all organizations looking for a peaceful and just settlement in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. I hope that within three or so months, the site will be up and able to serve a useful purpose as an information exchange between all the many organizations concerned.
This ongoing and hugely destructive conflict is one of the symptoms of global anarchy. An extraordinary waste of humanity’s resources and the energies of many activists are dedicated to its resolution. Other symptoms of anarchy can be found in areas such as environmental degradation, poverty, nuclear proliferation, human rights abuse, the spread of HIV, etc. In all of these areas, large numbers of activists work to alleviate the harm being inflicted. Though the symptoms need to be addressed, the illness itself, the anarchic international political system of a world of sovereign nation states, is the main problem that needs to be addressed. If that core problem can be solved, the other symptoms will diminish and ultimately disappear.
By establishing satellite sites such as Sapiens Promise, in these symptomatic areas, it is hoped that the Sapiens Movement will come into contact with many of the world’s activists who in turn will be sensitised to the value of, and will come to support, the idea of a democratic world government (DWG).
Andrew Strauss – a way forward. In the last newsletter I referred members to Andrew Strauss article on the routes to such a government. The one which seems best adapted to Sapiens’ situation in New Zealand, is Strauss’s “Interstate Treaty Process” whereby a relatively small group of countries dotted around the world come together and set the ball rolling by a mutual surrender of the most detrimental aspects of national sovereignty.
Vote World Government. In the last month I have been in correspondence with Jim Stark who has set up an organization called Vote World Government (see our Links.) VWG is endeavouring to establish a global referendum on the basis that if a majority of the world’s citizens state a clear preference for the establishment of DWG, their leaders will have no choice in practice or in law but to grant their request. As Jim says, it is not a difficult task – just a big one! Jim has a deal of experience in running referenda and in the 1980s made huge progress on nuclear disarmament with his referendum based “Operation Dismantle” in Canada. I feel that VWG’s endeavour cannot help but bring forward world awareness of the need for DWG and therefore feel he deserves full support in his endeavour. In those countries where Sapiens is active we can help VWG by running their referenda – and by so doing help our own activity by increasing the public debate on DWG.
The next stage is to work on a business plan – this will take a month or so I suspect.
At least after the suffering imposed by Katrina and Rita one has reason to hope that no further major international “initiatives” are likely to be forthcoming from the Bush administration. Perhaps we have a little more time available.
