Poll: Will we ever be one planet?
- Thread starter Madcat75
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We should never get to a point where people no longer disagree. That would be awful. We need criticism and scrutiny to grow as a civilization (which as it happens is why i think Yahtzee is so popular). However I am confident that we will eventually get to a point were we realise that fighting is a pointless way of resolving an arguement.MetalPhoenix said:
It just doesn't work simply because you can't kill an idea. Especially not in the age of the internet. People can fight all they want but the idea that offends them will never die. So i figure when people get wise to this they will realize that the only thing left to do is open up and talk about it.
This is only one part of the problem of course but i think i could write a very long and very boring book on this subject so i wont go into it here......unless someone wants to discuss it some more.
So, why would we want this anyway? Uniting means that no-one will look at us from outside, and find our flaws. No reform can really come from inside a country or a system, it gets crushed from the top of the system, the folks who have interest in keeping the system going. The US only succeeded in its revolution thanks to the French, revolution in China doesn't succeed because no-one wants to cross the economic powerhouse that is China. I'm sure there are other examples, but I'm lazy, so fuagh.
Anyway, look at Orwell if you want to know why one-world government doesn't work. If you have no enemy, you make one. And if you make one within your system, it means you don't work with others in your group. Most of the truly successful times in countries are when those countries are at war against another country, and all put aside their differences to hate a common enemy. To paraphrase Voltaire "if (fill in name of opposing country here) did not exist, it would be necessary to create it".
Anyway, look at Orwell if you want to know why one-world government doesn't work. If you have no enemy, you make one. And if you make one within your system, it means you don't work with others in your group. Most of the truly successful times in countries are when those countries are at war against another country, and all put aside their differences to hate a common enemy. To paraphrase Voltaire "if (fill in name of opposing country here) did not exist, it would be necessary to create it".
When we break out into the universe, we will. When on off worlds and talking with people, we'd say we're from (pretending that in 40 years we've made contact and spread out through the galaxy and the people here all traveled and are on diff planets) Earth, and if we meet someone who is also from Earth they'd ask where, and we'd say America or Mexico or China, and if they ask go into smaller areas, such as states and cities
I feel like when I say I'm from here, it's my identity for where I'm from. I'm proud to be from Cleveland, I'm proud to be from Ohio, I'm proud to be from America, and someday, I'll tell international forum members that I'm proud to be from Earth
We localize ourselves by areas to make ourselves feel unique and to bring out our individuality. Until we get something higher, we'll be broken down into countries and states and cities and such.
I feel like when I say I'm from here, it's my identity for where I'm from. I'm proud to be from Cleveland, I'm proud to be from Ohio, I'm proud to be from America, and someday, I'll tell international forum members that I'm proud to be from Earth
We localize ourselves by areas to make ourselves feel unique and to bring out our individuality. Until we get something higher, we'll be broken down into countries and states and cities and such.
It would be ages away from now but would say it is possible. Think how much has changed in past, oh lets say, 1000 years. Although doesn't necessarily have to come about by peaceful means
John Lennon is one of my biggest heroes, and "Imagine" really makes me hope for a peaceful, united world, but then I get a look at the world today, and it all comes crashing down around my ears. All this violence and tribulation... As depressing as it may seem, no, I don't think anybody will ever have the ability to get along with everybody else. People are just far too different for everyone to agree on everything as a whole.
There's no incentive to join up into one country, with multiple countries comes competition and a stronger economy. Competition drives technology and science as governments try to make more efficient industries and stronger militaries, would we have gone to the moon if the USSR hadn't have scared the bejeebus out of the U.S.A, currently the U.S has spent $1 Trillion on the War on Terror, if all those resources had been put into science and tech we'd be in a far better world.
My point is humans don't obey logic, the vast majority of people think that science is this scary thing that meddles with things we shouldn't and destroys morality when the answer is the complete opposite (mainly due to godawful science reporting in the media and religion) the only way we would ever unite into one group would be in a sort of 'Star Trek' society, where technology makes all the worlds problems menial - power generators that can fuel the world 1000 x over, using Hydrogen fuel availible in massive abundance, having the ability to exploit resources across the galaxy with asteroids containing a hundred times the mineral riches of the entire Earth since then it would be pointless to divide the world into countries that have an advantage and ones that don't
My point is humans don't obey logic, the vast majority of people think that science is this scary thing that meddles with things we shouldn't and destroys morality when the answer is the complete opposite (mainly due to godawful science reporting in the media and religion) the only way we would ever unite into one group would be in a sort of 'Star Trek' society, where technology makes all the worlds problems menial - power generators that can fuel the world 1000 x over, using Hydrogen fuel availible in massive abundance, having the ability to exploit resources across the galaxy with asteroids containing a hundred times the mineral riches of the entire Earth since then it would be pointless to divide the world into countries that have an advantage and ones that don't
I dunno. Chances are not, but we've still got a couple billion years of possible humanity time. We might not be human by the time we unite like that.
Nationalism is a disease without a cure. If we ever colonize other worlds, I could see those worlds being individual nations but I think it would be impossible to assimilate the Earth into a society under one government.
EDIT: And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, either. Governing every single solitary person on Earth under one government would be an insanely difficult task. What form of government would we use? How would we protect minority viewpoints? Who would have the power? The only reason I say we could set up colony worlds that have one government is because they'd be set up that way. On Earth, we have the U.S., we have Saudi Arabia, we have Russia, Europe, Japan, and hundreds of other countries with different systems of government. You can't just tell these people that they'll all band together under one banner and have them go along with it... unless they retain a good degree of autonomy, which is basically the U.N. Except this international/interplanetary coalition would have to do shit.
EDIT: And I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, either. Governing every single solitary person on Earth under one government would be an insanely difficult task. What form of government would we use? How would we protect minority viewpoints? Who would have the power? The only reason I say we could set up colony worlds that have one government is because they'd be set up that way. On Earth, we have the U.S., we have Saudi Arabia, we have Russia, Europe, Japan, and hundreds of other countries with different systems of government. You can't just tell these people that they'll all band together under one banner and have them go along with it... unless they retain a good degree of autonomy, which is basically the U.N. Except this international/interplanetary coalition would have to do shit.
It'll be difficult for us to all start to understand each other, to legitimently try to learn from each other and accept each other. And when we do that, maybe just maybe we will be one planet... Here's a test.
Do you legitimately want to know a terrorist's personal reasons behind his/her attacks?
Do you legitimately want to know a terrorist's personal reasons behind his/her attacks?
We already ARE one planet. That was a really pretentious way of asking about world peace. And yes, one day it will probably happen. I mean, if nothing else, one country will probably nuke all the others into oblivion, leaving only one very peaceful country left.
If there is one thing we can be sure of its humanity's desire for self destruction. World peace is a farcical idea, put two men in a room and after any given amount of time they will eventually kill each other. Man is the most destructive creature on the planet. We dont co-exist with other races that inhabit our world nor do we find a balance with the eco-system around us. We consume like a virus untill eventually we will run out of things to consume and we die out....fortunatly i will be long dead by then so i wont care!Frozen Donkey Wheel2 said:
It certainly seems unlikely at this point, but I suppose it's not completely out of the realm of possibility.