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We should discuss on how to build a WP, especially Global Commons and Fundamental Rights
Troy DAVIS
Saturday, December 07, 2002 1:47 AM
Dear friends,
First off, let me make a bold statement and proposal which if adopted will
save all of us a lot of time. I believe that all the questions under the
global socioeconomic context have nothing to do with our discussion as such
and should be taken off the agenda to allow us to focus on part b). I.e.,
that those are * precisely * all the questions which a future WP should
address ! In this discussion, we should be strictly focusing on the *
process *.
I mean that the whole point of a WP, is to create a "World Tree" under which
we can have our palavers (un arbre à palabres mondial), as one of our
African friends said. Remember that the African palavers under a tree are
probably the historical beginning of democracy. Similarly, a WP, i.e. a
"World Palaver Tree" is the instrument to concretize World Democracy.
Instead of socioeconomic questions, we should be discussing:
1. what kind of tree? 2. where is it planted? 3. how does it grow? how can
we make it grow fast enough to solve our huge problem and harmoniously at
the same time? 4. who sits there since not all the people of the world can
at the same time? 5. what happens with the decisions taken under the tree ?
6. how do we make those decisions stick, have impact?
(Note these are basically the same questions asked in the second agenda
item)
We should not be discussing now the exact content of the discussions under
the tree ! All the questions in a) Global governance and global
socioeconomic context are fair game for later. Why ask ourselves those
questions now??? What * is * legitimate to discuss are the general kind of
things which a WP can discuss, i.e. its competences compared to other
bodies, and its relationship to other bodies.
Personally, I think that to alleviate potential fears, a WP should only
discuss two major category of things:
1. Global Commons (space, Antarctica, radio spectrum, orbits, climate
change, global biodiversity etc.)
2. Fundamental Rights (peace and security, basic human rights etc.)
These 2 general categories are already so fundamental that if the WP
succeeds in "solving" these, we would have Peace on Earth ! Rules and
regulations about Global Commons and Fundamental Rights together constitute
a new Global Social Contract (Contrat Social Mondial)
This would automatically put a framework on the global economy and financial
markets.
Therefore, for me, the WP has one basic function and one only: to help
Humanity negotiate and then constantly improve and refine a Global Social
Contract, or a Universal Social Contract, based on fundamental principles of
human dignity. If you look closely at the questions under a), they are
basically all preliminary questions to solving the problem of making a
Global Social Contract for Humanity, so we can leave them for the WP itself
and should eliminate them from our agenda, as we are not the WP, but we talk
about the WP.
Sincerely -- Troy Davis
WP21 Alliance Forum on a World Parliament for the 21st Century
E-mail : world-parl@forums.alliance21.org
Fax 1 717 264 5036
Information, inscriptions, désinscriptions: germa@alliance21.org
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