🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1992Aug12.185553.8165@mcshub.dcss.mcmaster.ca> bunker@physun.physics.mcmaster.ca (Alex Bunker) writes:
>In article <Bsvrv2.4Js@apollo.hp.com> nelson_p@apollo.hp.com (Peter Nelson) writes:
>>
>>   Nations only work when there is a basic set of values or common
>>   culture to bind people together.  Attempts to create nations where
>>   these don't exist is folly.  Witness Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, 
>>   USSR, India before partition, etc.   
>>
>>    
>>---peter
>>
>
>Peter, you are mixing up apples and oranges yes these states fell apart because
>they were kept together by coercion and the government did not respect
>local autonomy. A world government could have 
>constitutional restrictions on its power so it can only deal with global 
>issues.


   Who gets to decide what a "global issue" is?   Dozens of nations
   around the world are complaining that Japan has cultural trade
   barriers to imports and is running a huge trade surplus with them,
   "stealing" jobs and destabilizing their economies.  Is this a global
   issue?   Is South Africa's treatment of their black population
   (or events in "Yugolsavia", or Somalia) a global issue?   If a nation
   decided to sell lots of gold or oil on the world market to raise
   cash, hugely impacting commodities prices, is this a global issue?
   Thailand's prostitute industry is one of the major sources of AIDS
   in Asia -- is this this a global issue?   What if a country legalizes
   drugs like cocaine or marijuana and offers to sell to anyone who 
   wants to buy -- is this a global issue if there are willing buyers?
   If a nation has plenty of oil, but refuses to sell it, or limits
   sales to keep prices up, is this a global issue?   The world's
   population is growing rapidly -- is a nation's willingness to adopt
   birth control a global issue?   The Bundesbank rcently raised 
   interest rates despite a recession in the rest of Europe and
   America -- is this a global issue?    If a nation wants to maintain
   full employment by constantly undercutting the labor costs of other
   nations, say by having very low taxes (and no social services) and
   having no business or safety regulations on industry, should they
   be allowed to or is this a global issue?   Etc, etc.


---peter