EARTHOCRACY: A UNITED NATIONS CONSTITUTION
An “earthocracy” can be broadly defined as a system of leadership and representation based on ethics and wisdom designed to preserve the environmental sustainability of this planet. In this modern age, democracies can easily devolve into plutocracies, corporatocracies, autocracies, and kleptocracies. An earthocracy is designed to prevent that devolution.
Linked below is a draft of a proposed United Nations Constitution structured as an earthocracy.
The Need for a United Nations Constitution
Currently, the risk is high that near-term generations could fall into dystopian conditions. The risk is high because past and current generations have engaged in short-term thinking driven by a rabid desire for material excess. Evidence supporting an unbiased techno-optimist perspective for the long term, without a “great simplification,” is not apparent. The conditions for dystopia may increasingly become evident as, for example, the keystone resource for the world’s existing infrastructure – petroleum – becomes scarce due to rising demand in an expanding global population, combined with a financial system built in significant part on the assumption that accumulation is progress.
Global problems require global solutions. The United Nations has in place the organizational structure on which to build a higher-functioning world. The Charter’s existing structure, however, limits its effectiveness in addressing modern global challenges. The United Nations, formed in 1945 as World War II was ending, was structured to maintain the victors’ power. While it is comforting to believe the UN Charter represents the highest ideals of humankind, an in-depth analysis reveals that the structure and conditions under which it was adopted were flawed.
To effectively prevent wars and solve global problems, structural reform of the United Nations is crucial. Extreme problems may require what, in the present, are considered radical solutions, but, in the future, are looked back upon as having been essential.
Key Elements of the Proposed UN Constitution
The earthocratic UN Constitution differs from typical national constitutions in five key respects. (1) It emphasizes the goal of maintaining planetary environmental sustainability. (2) Strict requirements for ethical leadership are established. (3) Future generations are given a voice. (4) It provides for weighted voting, based on various measures, until conditions are met to achieve equal voting. (5) The Constitution emphasizes a true unity of nations, allowing for member state sovereignty that is not detrimental to higher ideals for the world. (A constitution originally drafted in May 1955 by Joseph E. Schwartzberg, reformatted and edited in 2018, was utilized in part in drafting the proposed UN Constitution.)
The Constitution is designed to be easily readable for the average global citizen, including youth. As the Constitution is being evaluated or modified, an effort should be made to maintain reasonable simplicity, deferring details to laws and regulations grounded in the Constitution’s founding principles.
At the current stage of human development, structuring a global representational system in the form of typical national constitutions would only mirror and magnify their flaws. Most democracies struggle under a myriad of conflicting opinions, some more powerful and influential than others. That disagreement would be magnified at the international level. The global system must have a unique architecture that accounts for differences of opinion and cultures as the world presently exists.
A democracy becomes corrupted when its governing system is overly conflated with its economic system. Corruption is magnified when extreme avarice pervades the financial system and exemplary governmental leadership is lacking. In this technologically advanced age, disaster looms when countries are in competition for resources and a powerful plutocracy fosters a system under which enormous profits are generated from war and preparing for war. The earthocratic UN Constitution steps in to foster extreme cooperation and prevent the potential for war.
The challenge of leadership will be to address two opposing viewpoints that are likely to form. One will want continued short-term excess at the expense of future generations. The other will advocate for saving resources for as many future generations as possible. Ultimately, the choice becomes a question of each individual’s ethical and spiritual understanding. Leadership will need to find the appropriate balance between the two viewpoints.
Every person should view the process of fostering the United Nations Constitution as an opportunity to participate in this pivotal moment in human history, vital for creating a higher-functioning, peaceful, and sustainable world. Once the structure of the Constitution is understood, strong public support can be expected and will be essential.
The Process for Transitioning to a Constitution
Some nations with veto power under the UN Charter might argue that replacing the Charter amounts to amending it, requiring approval by the permanent members. If a sufficient number of countries have the vision and courage to create a better world, those nations seeking to maintain a stranglehold on the UN may decide to participate. One would hope that nations with traditions of high ideals will take a productive, active, and leading role, inspiring others toward those ideals.
A coalition has been formed to convene an Article 109 General Conference to review the Charter. Amending the Charter could prove futile if the powerful, corrupt, and short-sighted impede progress. Widespread citizen involvement globally will be needed to shift current global power dynamics. Such citizen advocacy may not continue if the Article 109 approach is seen as unlikely to succeed, as taking too long, or likely to achieve only insignificant results.
The Article 109 effort could, however, open the door to considering a constitution or incorporating strong earthocratic principles in a revised Charter. If such principles are significantly weakened, though, sustainability is likely to suffer, and consequently, future generations as well. Widespread grassroots support, particularly from internationally connected youth who may be facing dystopian conditions, would certainly favor an earthocratic constitution over the likelihood of nearly status-quo geopolitics.
To achieve global cooperation for the safety, well-being, and happiness of all people, including future generations, the UN Constitution can be developed and implemented in three phases within the UN system. Phase One involves creating a shared vision among people and their leadership for a desirable future. Phase Two will design the institutional framework for achieving that shared vision. Phase Three will implement the global system of representation under the Constitution. Accomplishing these steps will require bold leadership and strong, peaceful grassroots public support. Given global sustainability challenges, there is no time to waste.
A draft of a proposed UN Constitution, linked below, is intended to open discussion on the subject, with the expectation that it can be improved upon.
Stephen Crilly is an attorney with an international law background and the author of 44 Virtues: A Guide for Global Transformation (2013).