From: DissectedNews.com @DissectedNews
Government is a social construct, one that has undergone many interesting evolutionary phases over the course of human events. Before it had a name, there was government, the rules by which small groups of largely nomadic people organized themselves in order to become more efficient and prosper.In a saber-tooth-tiger-eat-dog world, the importance was on survival and competition. It was in each human’s best interest to work well with a cohesive group in order to win the fight for food, water, and viable mates.
Then we evolved. As society became centered around agriculture, it became necessary to protect and provide for sedentary populations. Government, then, became about protecting land from external threats. As societies grew, then securing trade and external resources also became important. Successful governments, then, were the ones who best secured prosperity for their people through the defeating of external threats, the securing of allies, and the expansion of power. These ends could be reached with diplomacy, economic prowess, the cultivation of culture and innovation, or sometimes military force.
Those of us living in one of the major powers in the world are also living examples of the “missing link” between an ancient evolutionary form and the “modern” human. We are witnessing a unique period of peace between the largest and most powerful nations. If we were watching the world from space, what we would see is an unprecedented era of peace, the result of empowered states no longer needing war to keep their power.
And yet, we all know that this would not be an accurate vision of reality. We know that injustice, inequality, famine and war still fester in many regions of the world. We know that hundreds of years of imperialism has left some empowered while it has left others virtually, or literally, enslaved.
I believe that fixing these problems should be an end in and of itself. The world superpowers need to rethink their models of foreign policy and the role of their governments, because they’re antiquated, ineffective, and making the world less safe.
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, or perhaps even before, the greatest threat to the national security of the United States hasn’t been a foreign power, but rather global destabilization.
It is no longer in the interest of superpowers to continue to expand their cultural, military, and economic strength along traditional models, as they produce disparity, which in turn creates conflict. Instead, the world powers will benefit from stability and growing parity both domestically and in the developing world. The powers of the world also need to focus on sustainability, in the economy, and in the environment.
As technology, wealth disparity, and global warming collide in the 21st century, the old model of the strength of statehood has become outdated. It is time for equality, environmentalism, and social justice to become the ends of power, else their lack become the end of it.
Read the Whole Article at: DissectedNews.com/2010/06/time-to-evolve.html
United States - Foreign Policy - In Perspective
