The Search for Good Government

“The growing interdependence of the world has given rise to a series of global problems that individual states can no longer resolve by themselves. Only through worldwide cooperation can we cope with the growing dangers and challenges that mankind faces.”​—Ghulam Umar, Pakistani political analyst.

TODAY’S world is full of paradoxes. In the midst of material abundance, many barely eke out a living. This electronic generation could well be the most educated and knowledgeable to date, yet more and more people have a hard time finding a stable job. Though humans seem to have more freedom than ever before, millions live in a climate of fear, insecurity, and uncertainty. We may be surrounded by alluring opportunities, but corruption and lawlessness in places high and low have resulted in hopelessness for many.

The scope of the problems facing mankind is so overwhelming that it far exceeds what any one nation, or even group of nations, can handle. Thus, many observers have concluded that for world peace and security to become a reality, all nations must unite under a single government. Albert Einstein, for example, long advocated such an idea. In 1946, he asserted: “I firmly believe that the majority of peoples in the world would prefer to live in peace and security . . . Mankind’s desire for peace can be realized only by the creation of a world government.”

After five decades, this vital need is yet to be satisfied. Listing the challenges of the 21st century, a commentary in the newspaper Le Monde of Paris, France, notes: “It is a matter of constructing the judicial, administrative, and constitutional bases of an international government capable of intervening immediately, everywhere in the world, in cases of ethnic massacre. It is a matter of accepting the idea that henceforth the Earth is one country.” Who or what has the power and ability to bring this about so as to ensure that humanity has a peaceful future?

Is the United Nations the Answer?

Many have put their hope for world peace in the United Nations organization. Is the UN a government that can bring true peace and security to the world? Without a doubt, there is no lack of political rhetoric that sounds inspiring and promising. For instance, in its “Millennium Declaration” of 2000, the United Nations General Assembly  made this solemn resolve: “We will spare no effort to free our peoples from the scourge of war, whether within or between States, which has claimed more than 5 million lives in the past decade.” Such proclamations have won the UN praise and admiration from many quarters, as well as the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. In thus honoring the UN, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated that “the only negotiable route to global peace and cooperation goes by way of the United Nations.”

Despite all of this, has the United Nations organization, established in 1945, proved to be a government that is able to bring genuine and lasting world peace? No, for self-interest and nationalistic aspirations of its member nations have frustrated many of its efforts. The public’s impression, in the words of one newspaper editor, is that the UN is no more than “a kind of barometer of global opinion” and that “its agenda is full of issues that have been debated for years with little if any progress towards solution.” The question remains: Will the nations of the world really be united someday?

The Bible reveals that such unity will soon be realized. How will this take place? And what government will bring it about? For answers, please read the next article.

[Picture on page 3]

Einstein advocated the need for a world government

[Credit Line]

Einstein: U.S. National Archives photo