After concluding that the unification of society is the only option for the salvation of mankind, we must first consider whether it is possible to achieve something so unprecedented. Specifically, this possibility includes two main aspects: First, we must determine whether or not a large unified society can carry out effective governance. If effective governance cannot be implemented, the idea of establishing a unified society is purely theoretical. Secondly, we must examine the difficulty of realizing human society unification. That is, in terms of today’s situation, what are the favorable conditions and unfavorable factors that will ultimately affect our move towards unity?
SECTION ONE: THE GOVERNABILITY OF A UNIFIED HUMAN SOCIETY
We have learned from experience that transportation and communication are the first conditions for successful governance of a large nation. It is impossible to achieve effective rule without convenient transportation and communication.
The larger the territory and the population, the more complicated various unidentifiable political, economic, social, military, and natural elements will be. If it takes three or four months for news of a natural disaster in a remote area to travel to the governing center, effective measures will not be taken in time. If any major policy or action took one or two years to communicate and implement over the entire regime, it would become outdated before going into effect.
The world power in a unified society would have to deal with all human affairs, from the Antarctica to the Arctic, from the Eastern Hemisphere to the Western Hemisphere. Unexpected events would happen every day. The world power would have to send out policies and instructions every day. Without convenient transportation and fast communication, effective management would be impossible. Therefore, communication and transportation capabilities hold veto power when it comes to the establishment of a unified society.
The governance of a unified society includes many factors, such as the feasibility of various political, economic, cultural, and social issues; issues of religious inclusion, ethnic integration, language, and written word exchange; and matters of transportation, communications, media, and others forms of information dissemination. Factors like religion, ethnicity, language, and the written word can be solved through human actions; thus, we call these “soft conditions.” Technical conditions like transportation, communications, and media are limited by the levels of science and technology in various periods; they can only be dealt with by existing means. Since the unified society is dedicated to the restriction of scientific and technological development, such technical conditions cannot be changed, only adapted. Therefore, these conditions are “hard conditions”; we can also call them “hard technical conditions,” or “technical conditions” for short. Since soft conditions can be changed and hard conditions cannot, governability of a unified society depends entirely on the hard conditions of that time—that is, whether the technical conditions can meet the requirements of global governance. The main requirement for successful global governance is the smooth delivery of government decrees.
One: Smooth Delivery of Government Decrees
Broadly speaking, the smooth flow of government decrees in a unified society consists of two aspects. First, the law must be upheld across the globe and in all areas of humanity, and the world power, as well as all levels of local government, must be produced in a legitimate process. This “law” refers to the unified law of a unified society, and it should be based on legitimate procedures. It should cover the whole of mankind—each individual, every group, all organizations, and all institutions. Second, all decisions and actions taken by the world power must be within the scope of law authorized by the unified society and all levels of local governments. These actions should be necessary, prompt, and effective. They should also receive timely feedback.
In order to study the smooth delivery of government decrees, we must first understand the methods and procedures of governance. Generally speaking, they can be broken down into the following aspects:
1. The Birth of Governance
The key to the governance formation of a large unified society is the birth of the world power. Only the creation and successful operation of a world power can ensure smooth, successful local governance. According to the commonly used forms of political power in human society today, the emergence of a world power consists of two key parts: the emergence of a world government leader, and the emergence of world parliament members.
Just from a technical perspective, democratically electing government leaders and politicians is the most difficult way to form a world power. In order to produce these people in a truly democratic manner, all electoral candidates will need to be known to all global voters. Voters will have to understand not only their political opinions, but also their moral character, ability to govern, language expression, demeanor, and so on. With such a massive area and a large population, the technical conditions to truly achieve democracy would be the prompt, expeditious, and vivid reflection of each participating candidate to each and every elector. At the same time, voters would need to be able to select their satisfactory candidates conveniently and accurately, conveying their votes in a timely and accurate manner to generate election results efficiently. The above conditions dictate that democratic governmental elections will require much more complex technical conditions than non-democratic government appointments. Non-democratic government appointments need only be discussed in a small area, and the designation of individuals can produce successors to power. Such a procedure requires less complex technical conditions.
2. Communicating Political Situations
Communicating political situations refers to the prompt communication of all major issues in the world that are related to the survival, work, and education of the people to the local government departments at all levels through various channels. Based on the importance or scope of these situations, local authorities will then promptly report to the top-level government authority (i.e. the departments of the world government).
3. Relaying Government Decrees
Based on the political situations reported by various region, the relevant departments of the world power will formulate various policy measures and decide on actions to take within the scope permitted by law. Some of these policies and actions may need to be implemented globally, while others may need to be implemented by groups. Some policies and actions may require implementation by the different levels of government agencies, while others may need direct operation and implementation by the world power itself. At the same time, new decrees may be improvements or new demands on preexisting laws and regulations. In any case, these decrees must first and foremost be communicated immediately to every officer who will fulfill them. In the face of natural disasters, manufactured disasters, and social unrest, it is especially important for decrees to be issued immediately to those concerned.
4. Execution of Decrees
Once decrees are successfully relayed, they must be executed. A world power that governs global affairs will most likely issue decrees of strong principle that will require disassembly by all levels of government authorities before being passed down. Specific implementation and operation of such decrees must also be discussed between the levels of local governments. In either case, the treatment of such decrees must be comprehensive, truthful, timely, and uncompromising. If each level of the government allows some small room for compromise while carrying out a world power decree, the decree will change drastically by the time it is implemented on the final scale. Due to the scope of the unified society, it will require more accurate, effective, and timely implementation of government decrees.
5. Supervision of Decrees
The supervision of decrees refers to the supervision and examination of government decrees. It requires that any deviations and out-of-date situations be promptly corrected, and that those who have performed well be awarded and encouraged accordingly. At the same time, supervision of the decree should also amend the decrees by looking at the practicality and accuracy of the decrees.
Two: Modern Means of Exercising Government Decrees
Modern means of exercising government decrees have developed exponentially. The fruits of the Industrial Revolution have allowed such means to make a qualitative leap in the past 200 years. These means can be broadly classified into three categories: communication, transportation and media.
1. Means of Communication
The discovery of electromagnetic induction provided a theoretical basis for the widespread application of electricity, including electricity in the field of communications. The earliest application of electricity to telecommunications was cable and then radiotelegraphy. However, the advent of a series of new means of communication has basically phased out telegraph services.
The phone is a vital contender. Telephone communication is very direct and produces a strong sense of realism and intimacy. After the landline was invented, scientists invented wireless phones. With artificial satellites in space, it is now possible for wireless phones to communicate globally in any environment, with little or no geographical constraints. Due to their convenience, speed, and low cost, personal mobile phones have developed rapidly and become universally popular in recent years.
Another development in telephone technology is optical fiber communication. Optical fiber communication can replace high-frequency microwaves with light as a medium and replace cables with optical fibers. It allows for greater capacity, higher quality, and lower cost phone calls.
Video telephones are another form of the telephone. They convey both voice and video across great distances. As long as there is a market demand, further cost reductions will allow for widespread use of videophones.
Faxing is another means of communication that is tied to the telephone, which allows the fax machine to convey everything on paper from one place to another, including text and pictures. The combination of telefax and satellite communications now allows for instant reception of messages and faxes using mobile phones, and laptops have become commonplace as well. The Modern communications industry has undergone tremendous change compared to its state before the Industrial Revolution.
In recent years, the emergence of the internet has revolutionized communication technology. This includes both the computer internet and the smartphone-based mobile internet. At present, the number of internet users in the world has reached billions and is widespread.
Multimedia communication on the internet can provide sound, video, picture, figures, data, and text. It is a product of the combination of communication technology and computer technology. Users have full interactive control in this type of communication. On the internet, friends can chat face-to-face across the ocean; colleagues from multiple locations around the world can conduct meetings to discuss issues; trade negotiations with distant clients is possible, and product samples as well as contracts can be demonstrated immediately during such negotiations.
Through the internet, computer hardware and software resources can be shared; real-time transactions can be conducted on stock markets and foreign exchange markets; E-mails can be sent to multiple recipients at the same time (these e-mails include texts, pictures, videos, and sounds); instant news and other kinds of information can be read; entertainment is readily available; virtual companies, virtual schools, virtual cities, and even virtual countries have appeared on the internet as well. The internet is bringing the world into a new information era.
2. Means of Transportation
Although horses and wagons as well as non-motorized vessels are still used as ancient means of transportation, modern means of transport have fundamentally changed the way people travel. The fruits of the Industrial Revolution have not only created new land and water transport methods, but have brought humans into the sea, sky, and space.
Once the steam engine was invented, people wanted to apply it to land transportation to replace traditional carriages and ox carts. The earliest application was the train. Within two hundred years, the train progressed from steam locomotives and diesel locomotives to electric locomotives. With each passing year, train locomotive power is increasing, speed is accelerating, and pollution and noise are decreasing.
In 1964, Japan built the world’s first high-speed railway: the Tōkaidō Shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka. High-speed trains can reach a speed of 210 kilometers per hour. After Japan accomplished this, France, Britain, Germany, and China also built their own high-speed railways. In addition to these nations, Italy, Belgium, Russia, Sweden, and other countries have built operating high-speed trains as well. The high-speed train “Eurostar,” which runs through the Channel Tunnel, links London, Paris, and Brussels. China’s high-speed trains run through all provincial capitals except Tibet and generally exceed three kilometers per hour in speed.
After the invention of the steam engine, people began to make efforts to use steam engines for water transport as well. In 1907, the first steamboat was successfully manufactured. Today, the internal combustion engine has replaced the steam engine as the source of power for ship transport. As a result, the largest ships can carry six hundred thousand tons of payload. Ordinary passenger and cargo ships have a maximum speed of over thirty nautical miles per hour, while special ships travel even faster. The speedboats used by public security officers can reach eighty to ninety knots.
Nuclear-powered ships have also been invented, but nuclear power is mainly used for aircraft carriers and submarines. Today’s submarines can submerge hundreds of meters underwater and can stay days in deep sea. Unfortunately, these submarines are usually developed as weapons of war. Submarines used for scientific research can dive into sea trenches several kilometers deep.
Today, the most widely used alternative to wagons as a means of land transport is the car. The car has far exceeded the carriage in terms of loadcapacity, speed, comfort, and durability. We can see all kinds of cars everywhere in the world, as well as highways extending in all directions—especially in developed countries.
The birth of the aircraft brought mankind into a whole new era. The earliest use of the aircraft for civilian transport was in 1918, when regular postal flights were opened between Paris and London, and between New York–Washington–Chicago. Today’s airplanes are an indispensable means of global transportation; however, they are also indispensable tools of war.
Aircrafts have been constantly developing and increasing in speed, and today they can travel more than three thousand kilometers per hour. The ordinary subsonic aircrafts we usually ride on can reach a speed of one thousand kilometers an hour. Subsonic aircrafts are also capable of flying long distances; for example, the Boeing 747-400 can travel thirteen thousand kilometers without refueling. The Airbus A380 can carry up to eight hundred passengers and travel a maximum range of 15,100 kilometers. The creation of aerial tankers has opened the door for even longer ranges of aerial flight.
After realizing the dream of flying, humans began to further explore the possibility of flying out of the atmosphere and into space. In 1961, Soviet astronaut Gagarin flew into space riding on the Oriental No. 1 spacecraft, finally realizing the human dream of leaving Earth. The United States Apollo Moon Program in 1969 put astronauts on the moon for the first time. On October 16, 2003, Chinese astronaut Yang Liwei rode the Shenzhou 5 spacecraft into space, making China the third country to achieve travel outside of Earth.
In the meantime, human space probes have successfully mounted extraterrestrial explorations of planets like Venus, Mars, and the planet type moon Titan and have conducted close-range observations of all seven other planets (excluding Earth) in the solar system. Space probes have even flown out of the solar system. Today we have a space station above Earth, allowing scientists to stay in space for longer durations and carry out various scientific research projects. The space station has begun to receive tourists as well.
3. Means of Media
Early newspapers and magazines were all printed in one place and then distributed all over the country. Those in the same city were able to read news in a timelier manner than inhabitants of other cities who to wait for a long time. For example, during China’s Qing Dynasty, it took three or four months for newspapers to travel from Beijing to the cities south of the Yangtze River more than one thousand kilometers away. By this time, it was no longer news. Most newspapers and magazines did not even deliver to more rural areas, due to the constraint of technological conditions like transportation and communication.
Under the technological conditions of that time, major news that occurred in the areas where newspapers and magazines were located could be communicated in a relatively timely manner, but major news in other places—especially in remote areas—could not be reported in time.
With the advent of the telegram, the telephone, and other means of remote communication, this situation has undergone qualitative change. Nowadays, both news and communication technologies and press and printing technologies have undergone fundamental leaps. News can now be sent to news agencies, newspapers, and magazines from all over the world by email, fax, and telephone. The application of modern computer editing systems in particular has brought together communications technology and computer technology. News pieces can be written directly on-screen and sent directly to a magazine’s central system from any corner of the earth, and computer photo-editing systems can complete layouts automatically and efficiently.
The application of satellite communication technology and optical fiber communication technology has freed global news from geographical and topographical constraints and improved definition, accuracy, and even confidentiality. In addition, newspapers and magazines are being printed and published in completely different ways, and edited content is sent to all regions of the world for local printing and distribution. Major newspapers and magazines are able to convey news to their readers quickly and efficiently.
The advent and application of radio and television was another major breakthrough in traditional media. The immediate and transmissible nature of broadcasting quickly made it a widespread new media tool. Cable broadcasting has also become prevalent, especially in socialist countries like the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Televisions developed simultaneously with radio and cable broadcasting.
With the advent and development of satellite communications technology, today’s radio and television networks can broadcast news from all over the globe in real time, be it from land, sea, or outer space. Due to the realistic nature of radio and television media, the impact of such media today has exceeded that of newspapers and magazines.
Another major breakthrough in media was the advent of the internet. Through the internet, we can read news and information from the world’s major newspapers, magazines, news agencies, radio and television stations, various websites and self-media on computers and mobile phones, and from various government agencies, enterprises and institutions, schools, and research departments. These news stories are vividly illustrated instantaneous, and capable of reaching a wide range of consumers, marking the internet as a truly historic media breakthrough.
Many people today prefer to watch TV shows, movies, and news on the internet, and they are more willing to receive a variety of other information from the internet as well. The internet has woven itself into many aspects of society.
Three: Decrees of a Unified Society under Current Means
1. The Birth of a Political Power
Decrees are issued by the prevalent political power. The formation of this political power depends on the legal process of a large unified society. Measured by today’s political values, the unified society should be a democratic society (there will be a special account of this later in this chapter). For discussion purposes, we will presume this unified society to be a democratic society.
A democratic regime should be elected by voters, either directly or through a representative system. Before being elected, each government official or politician should make themselves known to their constituents. Such understanding includes not only policy proposals and political performance, but also personal demeanor, family situation, and other important factors.
Aristotle, a thinker living in the Greek city-state era, described the ideal country in his book Politics. He thought that the population and size of an ideal country had to be just right—that is, the country’s borders could be viewed within a glance and all adult men could hear the commands of the highest commander during wartime. According to his description, the ideal country would not exceed a population of one or two million people. Aristotle believed that only such a small country could enable everyone to have the opportunity to directly participate in the affairs of the state in a democratic manner. Aristotle’s student—Alexander the Great—created a nation of unprecedented size spanning Europe and Asia, but it was a monarchy instead of a democracy.
Since entering the modern era, many democracies have emerged in the world. Some have populations totaling hundreds of millions and span millions of square kilometers. It is obviously impossible for such large countries to adopt direct political systems; thus, a system of representation is usually adopted. Voters elect politicians who can express their views to form representative organizations so as to indirectly participate in politics. Government leaders are either directly elected by voters or indirectly appointed through representatives.
The most extensive election of the unified society would be the election of world government leaders and parliamentary members. This type of election would involve all humanity—a scope unprecedented in human history.
Whether or not elections in such a vast area can achieve true democracy depends on whether each citizen eligible for election can cast their own vote objectively and impartially. The first condition to satisfy this will be for each voter to easily understand what he or she is choosing from. That is, he or she must be able to understand the political principles, policy proposals, behavior, and character of the candidate.
Achieving this goal on a global scale was unthinkable just a few decades ago, but it has become possible today. Through means like newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and the internet, candidates are able to state their policies in a timely and clear manner. Their voice, demeanor, and manner are readily available through the internet or on TV. Candidates who want voters to experience their charms more directly can even fly to all parts of the world by plane to meet their constituents.
Voting processes can be arranged either in a centralized place or individually at home through the internet. Computer systems on the internet can scientifically and rigorously verify the identity of voters and the validity of their votes. Global ballot papers can be rapidly processed by central computer systems, and the statistics of billions of votes can be displayed in seconds.
Many scholars believe that under today’s conditions of information dissemination, direct referendum can be achieved through modern scientific and technological means, no matter the size of the country. The ideal democracy of Aristotle’s small country can now be achieved in a global, unified society.
2. The Communication of Political Situations and the Relay of Government Decrees
The basis for policy decisions is the communication of political situations. In a unified society, situations at various levels of power must be communicated to the highest order of world organization—that is, the centralized departments of the world regime.
In a world regime, the political situation of the world will encompass the globe and cover all aspects of politics, economics, society, culture, ethnicity, and religion. The correctness and timeliness of world decision-making will depend on whether political situations in all parts of the world can be promptly and accurately reported to the relevant departments. In particular, some situations will require immediate attention, such as earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and other disasters. They will need immediate rescue and response measures. Large-scale crime and social unrest will also require immediate resolution. If such situations cannot be promptly reported to the relevant departments of the world regime, very serious consequences may occur.
In 1976, the 7.6 magnitude Tangshan earthquake in China killed 240,000 people instantly and left nearly one million people crushed under the rubble, awaiting rescue. Reporting this catastrophic event to the central government as soon as possible was crucial. Tangshan was less than two hundred kilometers away from Beijing, but at that time the earthquake had destroyed the wired telephone lines and there was no wireless satellite communication. The messenger had to intercept a truck to send word to Beijing; it took almost seven hours for the news to reach the capital, and this was only forty years ago.
Such an inefficient method of reporting disasters will obviously not be viable in a large, unified society. Any major natural disaster tens of thousands of kilometers away will require timely communication in order to report the situation and send aid immediately; otherwise, the loss of life and property will be unimaginable.
The level of communication we currently have is enough to accomplish our intended goal. Telephone, fax, and email are all efficient tools for sending instant messages globally.
It can also very convenient to issue government decrees under such conditions of communication. The government decrees formed by the world regime, regardless of whether they need to be spoken orally or require the use of audiovisual or graphic forms, can be instantly relayed to their executors. Even original documents can be sent in a day or two using planes, trains, cars, or other means of transportation.
Sometimes the issuance of decrees requires meetings with people from all over the world in one location. Such a meeting would not take more than one or two days to organize. This would not have been possible before the Industrial Revolution—it would have taken at least a year to notify attendees and convene a conference back then.
Moreover, there are many ways in which meetings can be held nowadays. If the meeting does require physical attendance or is especially urgent, conference calls, videoconferences, or internet conferences are all viable options. Science and technology has made the world a much smaller place—that is why we call it a global village.
3. Implementation and Supervision of Decrees
The execution and supervision of decrees is closely related to transportation conditions. Let us start our analysis by looking at reactions to natural disasters, large-scale crime incidents, and social unrest as examples.
Under modern transportation conditions, if an earthquake or flood occurs and the world government decides to mobilize disaster relief personnel and relief supplies, air transportation will be the most immediate method. Even in the worst situation where resources need to be allocated to the furthest parts of the earth, response time will be a day and a night at most. Of course, it is more likely that the world government will allocate personnel and supplies in a reasonable manner on a global scale. In the event of an emergency, the first batch of personnel and materials will likely be transported via aircraft, while subsequent large-scale rescue actions will be transported by train or ship—both of which are extremely convenient with modern transportation.
If large-scale crime incidents or social unrest need to be dealt with, the military will be the main force mobilized by the government. Military response speeds should be rapid and they should be immediately available. Rapid reaction forces can be fully mobilized via aircraft or ground vehicles as soon as possible.
As for the supervision of decrees, government personnel in the various levels of the world regime should conduct inspections all over the world and promptly report the situation to corresponding departments of the world political power. With such convenient and efficient traffic conditions, as well as such timely means of communication, government inspectors will be free to fly to any part of the world for inspection and supervision. In most cases, any time spent in transit will not exceed one or two days.
In the meantime, supervision results can be immediately reported to relevant authorities via phone, laptop, or text. If face-to-face reporting is necessary, it will only take a day or two to do so.
The implementation of government decrees not only requires the effort of relevant government personnel, but also the cooperation of all global citizens; thus, various forms of media will be needed to inform people of the importance of each decree. The convenient, and speedy media forms will be a reliable guarantee for the effective governance of a unified society. Today’s newspapers and magazines can be delivered all over the world on the same day. News from around the world and guidelines introduced by the government can reach the public on the same day too. Radio and television can immediately disseminate government policies and decisions, as well as broadcast live speeches from political leaders. People will be able to form a clear, unbiased understanding of their government’s intentions. The internet can also be an important medium of communication. Its immediacy, popularity, and huge information capacity will help the world regime promote and implement necessary principles and policies.
We can see that the fruits of modern science and technology have provided powerful guarantees for the smooth flow of government in a large, unified society. These are the necessary technical conditions for the effective governance of a united world.
We know that historically, Zeno, Kant, Marx, and Engels have all proposed similar ideas of human unity, but the technical conditions of their times were simply insufficient. Even in Kang Youwei’s era, technical conditions for global management were not yet mature. Today, all these technical complications have been solved to satisfaction.
What needs to be clarified is that current transportation, communication, and media levels only mean that the technological conditions for a unified society have been met theoretically. The above expositions are all based on the universal application of existing scientific and technological achievements. Realistically, these technological conditions are not yet widely used by all people, especially in poorer countries and regions. In order for a large, unified society to be effectively governed, it is imperative that these technical achievements be widely applied to all regions and groups of the world. This is entirely achievable through human efforts.
It must also be emphasized that all scientific and technological achievements must be screened before being promoted globally. If any scientific and technological achievements are likely to endanger the overall survival of mankind, they must be limited. For example, whether the internet is suitable for promotion in a unified society requires additional in-depth study to determine.
SECTION TWO: MAXIMUM CHANGE WITH MINIMAL RESISTANCE
Since we have established the technical conditions for a unified society, we can assume that a unified human society is achievable through human operation. Even so, human operations can vary in difficulty. If a unified society is too difficult to achieve in the foreseeable future and its establishment time surpasses the deadline for human extinction, furthering discussion would be pointless; thus, it is necessary to conduct a realistic analysis of the resistance to such change.
One: The Brutality of Social Change
Throughout human history, social change has always been linked closely with brutality. Cruelty has been an enduring theme in social change, be it the replacement of small states or large shifts of regional or global influence.
The fundamental reason for this brutality is the contradiction between old systems and new ways of life. Social change generally occurs when the ruling class of the old system is replaced by the ruling class of a new system. Since the ruling class occupies a dominant position, it will most certainly use its dominance to safeguard the interests of itself and some specific groups. These interests may be economical, political, or cultural, but they all belong under the happiness value category.
If social change is to take place, the old ruling class must be replaced. When this happens, the interest groups they represent are deprived of their happiness values. Some of these values will subsequently be adopted by the new ruling class and the interest groups they represent. In short, such social change generally robs happiness values from some people so that other people may acquire them. Those in danger of losing their happiness values will inevitably strive to defend their own interests, while those who seek happiness values of their own will inevitably strive for successful change.
This is just the beginning of the problem. In order to defend their own interests, the dominating group in power will take advantage of their dominance and employ any means necessary to prevent change. They may even use immoral methods like exile, imprisonment, torture, murder—even the murder of family and friends—to prevent change. Similarly, those who seek change are aware that the purpose of this change is only for their own happiness; therefore, they will also adopt extreme methods to totally defeat the ruling class. As a result, assassinations, terrorist attacks, and wars will inevitably take place.
Although the original intention of any change is limited to the acquisition of happiness, life will usually be lost in the process. Since the dominant ruling class will always be at an advantage, any social change will be met with huge resistance.
In order to safeguard its own rule, the ruling class will also implement a series of corresponding policies and measures to influence people’s ideology and convince them of its legitimacy and reasonability; thus, more scientific and reasonable systems cannot be easily accepted by the people. As we can see from history, new ideas usually take centuries to be accepted, and even more centuries to finally enact change. Take the Renaissance movement as an example—it was actually an attempt to overthrow the Catholic feudal rule under the banner of classical European civilization revival. Because Catholic feudalism had imprinted deeply on people, it was very difficult to change systems of belief. As the first thought-liberation movement in modern human society, the Renaissance movement took two hundred years—from the fourteenth century to the sixteenth century—to achieve substantive effect. During this period, many thinkers and scientists were massacred and persecuted. The ultimate success of the movement was achieved through war.
The Enlightenment movement (i.e., the Second Ideological Liberation Movement), which was launched shortly afterwards, took more than one hundred years to produce actual results. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Enlightenment championed rationalism, criticized the feudal social and political system, and attacked the theology of the Middle Ages; it also proposed the establishment of a rational society and state, paving the way ideologically and theoretically for modern democracy. The success of the Enlightenment was marked by a series of great revolutions and major wars, including the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic War, in which millions were killed and wounded.
At the root, it was the incredible nature of this social change that caused its brutality. At the same time, the ideological process necessary for this social change took particularly long to achieve as well. The Enlightenment itself was one hundred years in the making, but the Renaissance movement was a prelude to this social change, making the preparation time for this revolution roughly four hundred years.
The same is true for the communist movement. The goal of the communist movement was to overthrow the bourgeois rule and establish a socialist country with a proletarian dictatorship. There were no doubt sharp conflicts surrounding such a radical change, so its preparation time and brutality were extended accordingly.
The earliest socialist ideology can be traced back to the book Utopia written by More in the early sixteenth century. Since then, humans have pursued ideal societies and explored socialism for hundreds of years. The process of such exploration was also the process of ideology development. It was the birth of socialist thought by Marx and Engels in the nineteenth century that provided the theoretical basis for the establishment of a socialist regime. Further dissemination of these ideas eventually led to the establishment of a socialist state, and now the banner of communism flies over half the world. The brutality of establishing socialist regimes is obvious. The birth of almost every socialist country has been accompanied by bloody wars and armed uprisings. The establishment of the first socialist regime—the Russian Soviet regime—was immediately met with armed intervention by various capitalist countries in the world. The establishment of China’s socialist regime claimed millions of casualties through war alone. All this undoubtedly resulted from the antagonism between the existing ruling class and the groups fighting for social transformation. When such direct and intense conflicts of interests occur, it often becomes a matter of life and death.
Two: The Fundamental Interests in This Change are Consistent for All Humanity
Generally speaking, the greater the scale of social change, the more difficult it will be. The difficulty comes when the dominant vested-interest-groups expend all efforts to uphold the existing system. When this occurs, it takes longer for the opposing party to accumulate enough power for change. Social transformation can only be achieved when the balance of power between the two sides is reversed. Due to the sharp antagonism between conflicting interests, all social change is difficult, takes a very long time, and is extremely brutal. These characteristics are intensified as the scale of social change increases.
The great social transformation from a country-based society to a large unified society will be far greater than any previous social change. Past social changes have all been changes within the state system, whether institutional changes or a country’s merge, division, or reconstruction. No matter what, these changes have been limited to the social form of the country. The shift from a country-based society to a large unified society is a fundamental change in the social form of human society; it is based on the precondition of the demise of all nations. The groundbreaking significance of such change is not only unprecedented, but it cannot be rivaled in the future. Does it also mean that the difficulty, time required, and brutality levels of this social change will also be unprecedented?
We know that unification is our only option and the last resort for humanity. Without global unity, it will be impossible to truly limit the development of science and technology. This social change relates to the overall survival of mankind and everyone’s most fundamental interests. While the extinction brought about by science and technology may not directly endanger us, it is a crucial threat to our children and grandchildren, as well as all future generations.
Additionally, a unified society has the potential to bring about universal happiness for all mankind. Once mankind is unified as a whole, society will be much less competitive, and ethnic and religious integration may be possible. At the same time, a unified society is particularly suited to the promotion of equalized wealth. All of this makes the global unified society one without competitive pressure or knowledge renewal pressure. War and crime will decrease in frequency, and humanity will enjoy general affluence, health, and longevity. (These issues will be elaborated on in later chapters.) Moving towards unification will not only ensure the overall survival of humankind, but the overall happiness of humanity.
The profits of a unified society will benefit generations to come, indiscriminate of status. Unification aligns with the fundamental interests of all humanity, as there will be no conflicts of interest no matter what group or level people belong to. However, while global unification is consistent across humanity in terms of fundamental interests, fundamental interests often contradict visible interests. Fundamental and long-term interests require in-depth thought and wisdom and are often only championed by the most rational people. The majority of people will always be blinded by immediate and surface interests; therefore, a number of selfish individuals who choose to ignore the fundamental interests of all mankind will stand in the way of human unity.
Three: Resistance Analysis
The resistance to the unification of human society largely comes from the groups of people whose visible interests are compromised. Which groups are these, and how much resistance will they offer? We can start with the following analysis to find the answer.
First of all, among the general population, the biggest beneficiaries of a unified society will be the vast majority of poor countries, especially the small and medium-sized poor countries. These countries suffer poverty mainly because they have been treated unfairly historically; some have been ravaged by war while others have long been oppressed by colonialists. Since the rules of international competition are formulated by the rich and powerful, and the competition in modern society is fundamentally a competition of science and technology, small and medium-sized poor countries are developmentally restricted due to their lack of funds, insufficient personnel, and poor management abilities. They are least capable of translating science and technology into productive forces; thus, they are bereft of the fruits and benefits of modern civilization.
Once the world comes under the integrated management of a world power, not only will poverty-stricken areas be treated impartially, but they will also receive help from all over the world. While a unified society is devoted to restricting the development of science and technology, it also emphasizes the universal promotion and application of existing science and technology that is well established and safe. Those small and medium-sized poor countries do not have the capacity or conditions for such promotion and application, but a central world government can fully popularize and apply the most appropriate scientific and technological achievements in these areas. It is completely possible that these areas may become sufficiently wealthy very soon.
Secondly, it’s important to understand that the rich countries do not need to make any special sacrifices for the cause of unification, even though the inhabitants of poor countries will benefit from a unified society. This will result from the assistance and sacrifice made by the rich countries. Will the richer countries suffer great losses? That is not the case. Development and poverty alleviation in poor countries will depend mainly on the widespread promotion and application of existing science and technology; the main input required will be scientific personnel and management personnel. Although talent cultivation and support will require considerable investment, it will not place a great economic demand upon richer countries. Moreover, these kinds of investments can be compensated through other means.
We all know that since conflicts between countries often manifest in war, all countries invest greatly in their military. In a unified society where countries no longer exist, war will desist as well. With the integration of ethnic groups and religions and the establishment of a non-competitive society, crime rates will also drop. The military’s main task will be to maintain social stability and to conduct relief operations during natural disasters. This will reduce the military’s expenditure greatly—perhaps to one-tenth of what it is today. This means that more than 90 percent of global military expenditure will be invested in other areas. If these funds are partially invested in the development of poverty-stricken areas, they will have great impact.
A large, unified society can reduce spending in other areas as well. With the demise of countries, the governing bodies of all countries will disappear as well, and only the world governing body will remain; therefore, administrative expenses can be reduced. With the demise of countries, obstacles to regional exchange between those countries will disappear as well. In particular, obstacles to fair trade will disappear, all of which will result in the reduction of various expenditures. Much of this money could be invested in the aid of poverty-stricken areas, and poverty could be eradicated very quickly.
Third, the people of moderately affluent countries will also benefit in some way. Once the world is unified, and existing safe and mature scientific and technological achievements are universally promoted and applied, the world will attain an equalized level of wealth. This level of wealth will be equivalent to or slightly higher than the level of affluence enjoyed by developed countries today.
Some portion of existing achievements in science and technology are yet to be applied today, but they will finally play their part in a unified society. Even the most developed countries cannot boast of having the most advanced science and technology in every aspect, but a unified society can. A unified society can aggregate the most advanced science and technology in the world and surpass any developed country today in terms of overall advancement; therefore, the standard of living in a unified society will be even higher than that of developed countries today. As a result, the people of moderately affluent countries and rich countries will enjoy some economic benefits as well.
Fourth, there will be no major change in the interests of middle and lower-ranking leaders of countries. Once unification is achieved, the middle and lower-ranking leaders of various countries will be retained, and the sectors they lead will remain largely unchanged in terms of scope. There will still be higher levels of leadership and management above them, so the visible interests of this group will not be greatly damaged.
Fifth, the top leadership of small and medium-sized countries will suffer most loss in terms of visible interests, while the top leadership of major powers will be the biggest beneficiaries. Since the highest authority in a county-based society is the state, the decisions and behaviors of the top leaders in each country are usually absolute and final. They not only enjoy glory and power of the highest level, but also gain many privileges and visible interests as a result.
A country-based society requires the coexistence of many countries, and each country has its supreme leadership level. In a world power, however, the number of leaders will be very limited, and the leaders of small and medium sized countries may play an extremely small role in the promotion of unification. They are most likely to lose power and privilege in this process, and they will suffer most loss in terms of visible interests.
The opposite applies to the highest leadership of major powers. Generally speaking, any major change in the political map depends on the efforts of major powers. The transformation from a country-based society to a unified society is more tremendous than any other in history, and it will rely heavily on major powers. The most capable leaders and groups of these major powers will undoubtedly be in a position to play the most important roles.
Most importantly, the unification of society is a great undertaking that will save mankind and enable universal happiness. Its significance has no precedence and can never be rivaled; such a meaningful undertaking will be the dream of any capable political leader. Those who play an important role in this process will no doubt leave their mark on human history forever. In addition, the top leaders of major powers will be most likely to emerge as the leaders of the world power; therefore, the leaders of major powers will be the biggest beneficiaries of a unified society.
To sum up, unification is not only in the interest of all mankind but can also grant visible benefits to the majority of ordinary people. If this idea were to be promoted to the people, they would become the most powerful force in global unification.
In the leadership class, the middle and lower-ranking leaders will not lose many visible benefits, but they will benefit greatly from unification. Additionally, such a cause has great significance to the survival of humanity and includes the fundamental interests of all peoples, so the leaders of this group will also be supporters and promoters of the unification cause.
The greatest obstacle to world unity will probably come from the top leadership of small and medium-sized countries. They will be the greatest losers in terms of power and privilege. A considerable number of them will consider the cause of global unity to be worthy of personal sacrifice and become agents of change; however, a small number of extremely selfish individuals may disregard the survival of mankind as well as the happiness of future generations in order to cling to their power. They will be the clowns that stand in the way of a unified society.
If these people oppose global unity, they could do considerable damage due to their leadership status. They might be able to mislead the people of their countries though their own policies and propaganda. In this regard, this group of people will be the main impediment as well as the strongest resistance to social unity.
Correspondingly, the top leaders of major powers are likely to become active promoters of global unity, since they would also become the biggest beneficiaries. These people could do a great deal of good by mobilizing their countries to support the cause of unity. At the same time, the influence of major powers is not limited to themselves, as they also have the ability to call upon other nations or regions of the world. Though such major powers are only a small portion of the world’s countries, the have global influence that cannot be matched by smaller counties.
The top leaders of major powers are not only most likely to actively promote the process of unification but also have the greatest ability do so. If the top leaders of the few most powerful countries were determined to act in unison, global change would be possible. In short, the top leaders of major powers are the most dependable strength for the cause of unification.
From the above analysis, we can see that although the transition to a unified society is an unprecedented social change in human history, its consistency in the fundamental interests of mankind and its benefits to the top leaders of major powers may result in relatively small overall resistance.
SECTION THREE: THE UNIFIED SOCIETY—A PREVIEW
The human world is complex and plagued by many problems. At present, the most serious problems people are aware of are war, environment issues, resource shortages, and poverty. These problems cannot be solved by one country, which is why there has always been a strong demand for global coordination and unification. Many international organizations were born from such desires. The United Nations is most representative of these international organizations. As a universal international organization, it has devoted itself to the coordination of nations as well as the unification of global actions, and it has made many contributions to this end.
At the same time, the global economy is becoming increasingly integrated. Commercial trade has already broken through national barriers, and markets are no longer closed or independent. In order to unify the world market and coordinate world trade, the World Trade Organization has been established, and many regional trade organizations have also emerged. In some respects, the integration of the world is already taking shape.
Both the series of unifying global initiatives undertaken by international organizations and the integration of world trade mark a momentum towards global unity. Though neither is a deliberate pursuit of unification, they are still tentative steps toward a unified society; thus, we may consider these trends to be a preview of the unified society, because they carry certain characteristics of a unified society and may reveal the objective trend of human society development upon deeper study and analysis. This coupled with the influence of existing technical conditions on global governance may provide us with a more objective understanding of the possibility of global unification.
One: International Organizations and the Unified Society
After World War II, international organizations sprang up in abundance. The two most influential regional organizations in the world were the North Atlantic Treaty Organization headed by the United States, and the Warsaw Pact led by the Soviet Union. These were actually two major conflicting military groups. Other influential regional organizations included the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the League of Arab States, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In addition, many other regional professional organizations held considerable influence, such as APEC and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The most influential organization in the world today is obviously the United Nations, as well as the international trade organization known as the Economic United Nations. In addition, other professional world organizations, such as UNESCO, the World Health Organization, and the International Monetary Fund, have great impact as well. At the same time, many non-governmental international organizations try to play their part; examples of these include the International Federation of Students, the World Youth Federation, and Greenpeace.
International organizations are all borne of specific needs and circumstances. Most regional international organizations were established to enhance the collective competitiveness of member countries, be it military, political, economic, or resource competitiveness; therefore, the purpose of regional international organizations is generally not in line with or even contrary to the goal of a unified society.
The purpose of global organizations is just the opposite. These international organizations are generally established in response to the universal demands of all countries in the world and revolve around the common interests of mankind. The United Nations in particular is deeply rooted in the catastrophe and misery caused by World War II. The purpose and objectives of such global international organizations are always in line with human unification. Their work, regardless of effectiveness, will in fact be linked to the future formation of a unified society. Moreover, the technical means employed by international organizations are also highly consistent with the technical means to be adopted by the world power of a future unified society. Therefore, the workings of international organizations today can offer some insight into the unified society of the future.
Take the environment as an example. Environmental protection is an important issue for mankind, as the serious environmental pollution since the industrial revolution has garnered the attention of many people. Even in a unified society, such an issue would be an important task for the world government. The United Nations has been devoted to this cause since the early 1960s, at which time several meetings were held and a series of environmental resolutions and conventions were passed. The series of UN actions has popularized the goal of “Save Our Earth” among the world’s people.
The issue of population is equally important. The development of medical and pharmaceutical technologies as well as the backward approach to birth control in certain regions has led to a sharp increase in the world’s population, and this growth trend is still accelerating. This phenomenon has been coined the “population explosion.” The issue of population will also be an important social issue for the unified society, even more so than it is for national communities today, because the limitation of science and technology development in a unified society may also limit the amount of food and resources generated by such technologies. If population were not strictly controlled, the unified society could face starvation. The United Nations established the Population Commission in 1947, and the issue of population has remained crucial over the years. The UN has also held a number of special sessions to discuss population issues, and it has adopted a series of resolutions and programs as well.
The UN has never ceased its efforts in the fights against poverty and terrorism, or as it has advocated for the protection of human rights and drug prohibition. It has held many global conferences and has tirelessly carried out task after task. Looking to the future, none of these issues can be solved in a short period of time. The unified society must continue to work on these vital issues.
The United Nations is the most extensive international organization in the history of mankind and has been the most capable of representing and safeguarding the interests of humanity. During its sixty-year tenure, the United Nations has contributed greatly to the overall interests of humanity, showing that its formation has been most beneficial to mankind. It has always strived to conduct multilateral coordination and to pass decisions through general voting processes. Such voting procedures have been efficiently facilitated by the technology of today.
The United Nations Millennium Summit held at the UN headquarters in New York in September 2000 is a typical example of this. The leaders of more than 150 countries attended the Summit, and over eight thousand policemen were dispatched by the NYPD. From September 14 to September 16, 2005, the leaders of over 160 countries gathered at the UN headquarters again to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of its founding. This was the largest summit to be held since the founding of the United Nations, and more than three thousand journalists attended. Meetings of such massive size have considerable global significance.
The 2005 meeting completed its intended agenda smoothly, and security was extremely efficient as well. However, it was extremely difficult to pass the relevant documents prepared for the meeting. The most important document of the meeting was the Draft Outcome Document. To complete this document, the United Nations had set up a special core group of thirty-two countries, including the United States, China, and Russia. Unfortunately, it was difficult for the core group to reach an agreement; after months of hard work, the document was barely adopted the day before the General Assembly. The final document had been reduced from its original one hundred pages to thirty-five pages; elements like disarmament, development, the definition of terrorism, and denuclearization were all excluded due to conflicts of interest.
The success of the above global summits was largely dependent upon the very accessible transport and communication conditions of the time. Such meetings would have been impossible under the technical conditions of one hundred years ago. Of course, the great deal of coordination and liaison done by the United Nations in advance was also crucial.
The convenience of transport and communications has also aided the United Nations in effectively implementing many decisions concerning global operations. Whether it be peacekeeping operations or disaster relief, as soon as all countries reach a consensus, forces can be quickly mobilized to the target destination. In most cases, time is usually wasted debating and bargaining over the decisions.
Analysis of a global organization like the UN in comparison with a unified society reveals the following differences and similarities:
1. Prior to decision-making, the United Nations must devote great efforts to coordinating the positions of all countries. Such a coordination process tends to be very long and greatly complicates the reaching of decisions. In particular, when one or two key players disagree on any major issue, decisions will not be made or will be impossible to implement.
The world power of a large unified society would also need to coordinate the positions of all regions due to their varying features and partial interests; however, as a global regime with centralized executive power granted by law, the world power would be able to make final decisions when necessary. Such decision-making would not be overly prolonged, and the compilation of all regional opinions would happen relatively quickly.
The voting process of the United Nations shares one commonality with that of the unified society: once consensus is reached, convenient transportation and communication conditions, as well as other technical conditions, allow for quick, decisive action.
2. The UN’s decision-making process is permeated by power plays; some issues cannot be resolved due to the attitude of one country. At present, there are 193 member nations in the United Nations, but many major issues are influenced by the one vote from the United States. In other words, the United States alone is enough to veto certain UN decisions.
In a unified society, all the regions of the world would be on much more equal footing. Though regional voting rights may differ due to population, economic, or cultural factors, the differences would not be overly large. No one region would be able to affect the decisions of the world power.
3. The weight of each country in the United Nations depends largely on the strength of its military. A strong military power can often influence the decisions of the United Nations; this is actually a manifestation of power politics. A unified society, however, would not allow regions to possess their own independent militaries. The armed forces of the unified society would be directly in the hands of the world political power; therefore, it would not be possible for any region to influence the decision of the world power through military might.
4. In all the work of the United Nations, issues concerning war and armament reduction have always been the most difficult, the most important, and the most contradicted. The UN must jump through many hoops to formulated even the smallest decision in these regards. Contrarily, a unified society would not have regional war and armament issues. The small number of troops under the unified society would follow the regulations and laws of the world power to target a small number of small-scale wars, crimes, and separatist actions.
5. The United Nations’ decisions often take the form of declarations, conventions, treaties, or agreements. This shows that as an international organization, the decisions of the UN are made on the basis of voluntary implementation by all nations; however, the decisions of the world power in a unified society will undoubtedly appear in the form of orders, decisions, demands, and instructions. The decisions of the world power will inevitably be implemented with much greater force.
6. Due to the sovereignty of countries, the United Nations cannot enforce its decisions and principles on independent countries. Generally, the United Nations has no means to impose any restraint on countries without the support of major powers. Many acts that violate the UN’s decisions are in fact perpetuated by major powers—open opposition of such actions would only result in world war. A world power, however, will be backed by absolute centralized power and will be able to restrain and impose actions upon any region that violates world principles and laws. It will hold regional leaders responsible, replace them if necessary, and even bring legal charges against them. Most regional leaders will not take such risks; thus, isolated incidents will be easy to deal with and will not result in major consequences.
Two: Globalization and the Unified Society
Today, globalization is one of the important issues of our time. Convenient transportation, cheap and timely communication, as well as rich and intuitive media have all shortened the distance between people and created a “global village.” A broad understanding of globalization should include all aspects of politics, economics, military affairs, culture, science and technology, as well as society. Regardless of whether you know the term “globalization” or feel the impact of it, globalization is everywhere around us.
Beijing serves as an example of globalization. This five-thousand-year-old ancient capital has long shed the shadow of history and emerged into the modern world. Of course, the Forbidden City still stands, and the Temple of Heaven, the North Sea, and the Summer Palace still retain their Ming and Qing dynasty facades, but only as deliberate monuments to China’s rich history. Beijing teems with Western signs like McDonald’s, KFC, and Pizza Hut. German Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs, Japanese Toyotas and Hondas, American Lincolns and Buicks, and South Korean Hyundais all run on the streets. People can be seen drinking Coca-Colas and Starbucks; wearing French and Italian clothing; holding Nokia, Huawei, or Samsung mobile phones; and watching Hollywood films and South Korean idol dramas on all types of TVs. We can clearly see that various lifestyles and cultures permeate and integrate with each other. This globalization of culture and lifestyle is by no means limited to cities like Beijing. It has infiltrated small and medium-sized cities as well as remote rural and pastoral areas.
The popularization of smartphones, radios, and televisions, as well as the convenient means of transportation and communication, has enabled the general population to feel the integration of the world. All people are being unconsciously swept along in this globalization process, and this trend is especially obvious in developed countries.
We can start with an analysis of military globalization. The Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were two of the largest worldwide military alliances, and they can also be described as a form of military globalization; however, they were confined to regions and were contradictory in nature. It is more accurate to call them contradicting international military groups. Similarly, political international organizations like the European Union, the Arab League, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization are all limited to regions or groups. These organizations unite for competitive strength and are more about international confrontation and divide than globalization.
People are more aware of economic and technological globalization. These are narrow definitions of globalization, but they are veritable forms of globalization. Economic globalization first manifested in the integration of the world market. When we walk into a mall these days, we can easily find all sorts of products from all over the world. Items from all over the world have been brought together in one counter or aisle.
When the first round of negotiations surrounding the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was held in Geneva in 1947, there were only twenty-three members. Membership increased substantially as time went on. This provisional body was finally reorganized into the permanent World Trade Organization in 1995. The birth of such an organization is a true reflection of the irresistible trend of economic globalization. To date, the World Trade Organization has 164 members and its total members trade has reached 98 percent of the world’s total trade.
Economic globalization is also reflected in the globalization of product production. The United States’ Apple brand commissions most of its production from Shenzhen, China; many of Lenovo’s components are manufactured in Taiwan; Airbus and Boeing aircrafts source components from all over the world—China’s aviation manufacturers occupy 5 percent of the Airbus A350’s production, and the Boeing aircraft is coproduced by 340 companies in twenty-three countries, including the United States.
Another manifestation of economic globalization is the globalization of corporate investment sources. Today, companies like Airbus, BMW, General Motors, Tencent, Alibaba, and Baidu are all owned by more than one country. They are invested in internationally and their shareholders are distributed around the world. Such multinational corporations can no longer be simply defined by the concept of countries.
Economic globalization is also reflected in the globalization of investment objectives. Any multinational company will set the world as its investment target. It will place its manufacturing plants in areas close to markets with low production costs and beneficial investment environments.
Globalization of technology accompanies the globalization of economy. New technologies spread around the world just as quickly as new products. From the perspective of globalized technology trade alone, the global trade in technology reached an average of 2.5 billion US dollars in the mid-1960s, 50 billion US dollars in the mid-1980s, and more than 200 billion US dollars in the mid-1990s. In the meantime, the import of information and communications technology reached nearly two trillion US dollars—the growth of the technology trade has far exceeded the growth of global economy.
The globalization of technology also includes the globalization of higher education. As training centers for scientific and technical personnel, colleges and universities have become the source for promoting the competitive advantage of enterprises and nations. Over the past forty years, the number of students studying abroad has grown at an average rate of nearly 4 percent annually. Additionally, university teachers are becoming more globalized; 20 percent of newly hired professors in the fields of science and engineering in the United States are born abroad, while most of China’s top universities employ teachers from foreign countries. Some of the larger cities in China have hired foreign English teachers in primary and secondary schools and even kindergarten. It is not hard to see that globalization has undergone a qualitative change due to the change in human communication methods. It is precisely the highly developed means of transportation, communications, and media that has made globalization a possibility as well as an overwhelming trend.
In the course of its development, the globalization of the economy needs to be supplemented by new global community. For example, the globalization of the economy is also manifested in the globalization of finances. The dollar has become almost a universal currency in the world, while the euro and yuan are constantly trying to challenge its dominant status. The globalization of banking has made transactions in different currencies between distant banks possible and easy. This has made global economic activity and world trade even more convenient.
Financial globalization is also changing people’s way of life. We can travel anywhere in the world with just a credit card, so travelers not only bring tourism income but also different ideas, lifestyles, and perspectives, making world culture even more globalized.
The trend of cultural globalization is also a result of modern technological globalization, but the extent of cultural globalization cannot be compared with that of economic and technological globalization. This is because cultural heritage is closely guarded by all countries. We would not expect an extreme Islamic nation to allow women to wear bikinis in a pageant contest any more than we would expect Western countries like the United States or France to require women to wear veils in public. Modern technological means can promote a broad, multidimensional and multi-regional globalization effort. In this process, countries are often the obstacle to globalization.
The process of economic globalization is often beneficial to national interests. In particular, developed countries and countries with technological innovation capacities are always the biggest beneficiaries of globalization. While some less-developed countries may be more passive in the process of globalization, they benefit more by accepting globalization rather than resisting it; thus, economic globalization can often be easily achieved without the impediments of nations.
The globalization of culture is a different matter. Governments of open-minded countries will impose fewer restrictions on modern media, and cultural globalization may take place more straightforwardly. Contrarily, censorship and media restriction in other countries may impede the integration of culture. When I traveled to North Korea, I discovered that the TVs in Pyongyang’s hotels were only able to receive two government channels. Under these circumstances, cultural globalization is certainly impossible.
Interregional cross-sectoral political and military globalizations are even more impossible to achieve in a country-based society. Politics and militaries are the essence of state sovereignty as well as their final line of defense. If political and military globalization were to be achieved, it would satisfy the basic characteristics of a unified society. Once that happened, the social form would no longer be nation-based.
Analysis of current globalization trends reveals an exciting fact: globalization is not forcibly promoted by governments through artificial forces; rather, it is a spontaneous action that reflects the strong and unconscious aspirations of people towards global unification. The national government has played a repressive role in such a process of globalization. Without such suppression, the content of globalization would become even richer, and the degree of globalization would become even more in-depth.
We can assert that with a little more promotion, globalization will inevitably become even broader, deeper, and more comprehensive. Once globalization extends to every aspect of politics, military affairs, culture, and society, it will signal the advent of the unified society. At its root, the unified society itself is a type of extensive, in-depth, and comprehensive globalization.
To sum up, whether global operations are promoted by international organizations or emerge spontaneously, a mode of operation similar to that of a unified society is being quietly formed in the world. Objectively, this has formed a preview of the unified society that may come. By analyzing this preview, we can draw the following conclusions:
1. The series of unifying actions taken by international organizations as well as their operation models are all tests of modern communication conditions on a world scale. They demonstrate that the technical conditions for world governance have reached maturity.
2. The action of world unification is a common aspiration of the people. This appeal first manifested itself in the establishment of international organizations that would coordinate world affairs for the common good and prevent war. Though such international organizations were not able to influence countries, they contributed greatly to the unity of society and the overall interest of mankind; thus, these international organizations have provided important lessons for the unification of human society.
3. The trend of globalization is a spontaneous initiative and an irresistible trend. From this trend, we also see that the peoples of the world share a universal desire for unity. This trend is not just a desire of the people, but also a necessity of history.
We can clearly see that a unified human society is a distinct possibility. With the full maturity of technical conditions, the experience gained from a preview, the universal yearning of the people, as well as the just goal of saving humanity, is there a force strong enough to stop our progress?