The long-term goal of Citizens for Global Solutions is the transformation of the existing United Nations into a “United Federation of Nations”. Such a change at the global level would be a transformation somewhat similar to the previous transformation that produced the United States of America.
When community governments decide that they would like to work together for common goals, the first step is often to form a confederation where all the governments of the member communities must agree to any proposed action and where any government that does not like a proposal can simply withdraw from that confederation. Sometimes, however, they can decide to form a more closely united enduring organization called a federation where unanimity is not required but new rules/laws are adopted about what the new governmental organization may do and about what individuals in any of the joining groups cannot do. “Federalists” are those who favor such a transition from a confederation to a federation.
In 1787, American Federalists including individuals such as Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, and James Madison persuaded their compatriots that the existing organization of 13 state governments based on the Articles of Confederation should be transformed into a national democratic federal government. The new U.S. Constitution described the officers of the new national government and the powers to be delegated to it while also noting that all other governmental powers were to be retained by the 13 state governments. Adopting this Constitution made it clear that the existing confederation of colonial governments was to be changed into a federation, a real federal government called “the United States of America,” whose laws would apply to all individual persons and not just to the colonial governmental organizations being united under the new government.
The World Federalists argued that the whole world community should now follow the model of the U.S. Federalists and transform the confederal United Nations into a democratic federal world government.
As World War II came to an end in 1945, several World Federalists, vigorously supported by Albert Einstein and others, concluded that the devastating war and the new development of extremely powerful nuclear weapons demonstrated that it was time for the various national governments of the world to be united in a federal world government. The United Nations was being created, but it was only another confederation not very different from the earlier League of Nations that had failed to prevent World War II. The UN was a step in the right direction, but it just didn’t go far enough. The World Federalists argued that the whole world community should now follow the model of the U.S. Federalists and transform the confederal United Nations into a democratic federal world government.
That is the transformation of the United Nations into a United Federation of Nations that the world community needs.