World Government, Security, and Global Justice

Abstract

Kai Nielsen defends the desirability of establishing a world government conceived of as a single court of final appeal for the adjudication of international disputes, with the authority to enforce its decisions through complete control over t11e legitimate means of violence. The cultural diversity of distinct political communities is extremely important because through our memberships in these groups we have the personal identities we do; hence, it is important for a world government to protect the integrity and limited power of self-determination of political communities. To ensure this, the world government should be a constitutional democracy and take a federalist form. To be legitimate, a world government must also institute world justice. Such a conception should be identified using something like John Rawls's original position, Nielsen says. The conception of world justice Nielsen advocates requires the achievement of basic human rights and an equality of condition for everyone in the world, at least as f.1r as this is compatible with individual autonomy, and the flourishing of human life to the greatest extent possible. To bring about a world government of the sort Nielsen calls for would be extremely difiicult, however, so much so that he believes that we should not place it high on our political agendas.