Local Governments in Planetary Alliance

by Mike Meyer

We are rapidly coming to the decision point for this planet. Are we part of a planet or do we insist on remaining tribal club wielders so we can threaten everyone around us as we die? And die is what we, or more significantly, our grandchildren will do with the current resurgence of elementary school yard bullies calling the shots.

Nationalism is not a virtue. At its worst is a tribal empire locked in a primitive stage of development. At its best it is the next step after absolute monarchy. Is that the best we can d?

The planetary problems that we face cannot be solved by antique, 18th century nation states. Which one is going be responsible for the planet’s climate? Which one is going to be responsible for establishing universal standards of rights for our species? Which one is going to ensure planetary resource allocation? And which one is going to maintain neutrality of the moon and asteroid belt?

Oh, we don’t need to think about those things? Think again. We have gained a world of greatly reduced violence and increased well being not because of nations but because of international organizations with the authority to define and enforce planetary standards however limited.

The center of this is the United Nations formed from the alliances of World War II. As an alliance of sovereign states is was and is a interim supplemental body to give consistency to human rights and immigrant protection when nation states collapse. It has done its job but it needs more.

The bizarre collapse of the US political system has placed incompetents in charge. Donald Trump has gathered around him twisted and irrational manipulators hoping to ride his insanity to power for themselves and their regressive schemes. We are seeing this in John Bolton who has dedicated his life to the destruction of the future. He calls himself a radical libertarian and that shows why there are no libertarian governments on the planet. He is a brutal authoritarian attempting to hide his reality. Trump doesn’t care.

We need to care. Everyone that understands the extent of the problems we face also understand the opportunities that solving of these problems will create. There are no opportunities in the old tribal world of military conquest and domination. Those who think themselves strong and dominant find themselves conquered and oppressed. Those are the only options available. Fight to retain military control or fight to keep from being oppressed. I think we are beyond that.

We must be beyond that because climate change is already devastating regions of the planet. Even the Trump regime has had to admit that warming will destroy us with +7 degrees by the end of the century but they are stupidly claiming that nothing can be done. What does that mean?

As we watch stronger storm systems, extreme floods beyond recent history, heat that is beginning to kill greater numbers among those who are vulnerable all increasing year by year, the only hope is a year or two of slower disaster. Our children and grandchildren will be facing 7 degree mean temperature increases by the end of this century if we do nothing.

Ah, we can see the Trump idea. Do nothing and allow the super rich to build their mountain fortresses to weather the decades of disaster. But that doesn’t make any sense either. Is it that they just don’t care? Do you care?

The planet is acting on the Paris Accord to lower those temperatures by removing carbon from the atmosphere and moving rapidly as possible to renewable energy. The reactionary regimes want to block that for their immediate greed. This is not a small and localized disaster. We can no longer look the other way because those other people are only messing up their own country. Whether we want it or not we are now a planetary civilization.

What will we do? What does it mean becoming a planetary civilization?Will the UN take over the planet? No. We can’t see the future but it is becoming increasingly obvious that the old models of government are not functional in the 21st century world. Big governments were the result of the difficulty of maintaining bureaucracy to deliver the security and services to maintain a modern standard of living for our entire population.

Successful 21st century governments, that does not include the US, are democratic socialist and committed to rights and well being of their citizens. This does not extend across the old nationalist boundaries. Unfair trade, predatory capitalism in some states, the US is the largest predator, have been and are attempting to continue destruction of our planet by mindless resource exploitation.

Political collapse and corruption that completely controls the Trump regime is now recognized as the enemy of the other people of this planet. The UN General Assembly laughing at Trumps crude lies about his disastrous rule is indicative of where we are in the world’s eyes.

The future is not giant, predatory, capitalist or authoritarian regimes. The American empire is a shambles that consumes resources at an astounding rate producing $1 trillion deficit in 18 months of Trump.

We need to rethink the planetary administration and the UN is the basis from which to start. The layer after layer of bureaucracy in local, regional, and national governments with planetary issues handled by yet another layer of administration cannot survive.

Most people have little understanding or interest beyond a few memes and buzzwords at the national level. Politics has always been about local government based on people, whatever their national party affiliation. As we move to majority urban living the most important governmental level is that of the metropolitan area. This is where government should live and where it should be made more efficient.

The information and AI/ML revolution is making augmented management systems that function in ways similar to self driving cars. How does that effect what we are dealing with? By simplifying government and reducing bureaucracy. It means we can maintain direct input into our local governments and help manage our own lives rather than electing human representatives who end up voting for the richest who give them money to run for office.

The lightly populated rural areas will be more directly linked to their urban region as self driving cars and personal self flying drones allow people to expand to suburban or diverse urban centers. But the key is augmented AI/ML based management based on modeling and rights management. We need local management not local political posturing for state and national power.

Local metropolitan governments are already allying to other metropolitan regions directly. Placing them under a planetary alliance modeled on the UN that provides planetary solutions based on the decisions of local, metropolitan governments in direct, augmented democracy. It is now possible and will happen. We need to accelerate this for our own survival and to prevent destruction of everything we have by tribal authoritarians.