World citizens welcome world government (Part 1)

By Henry Lamb

For more than a century, the idea of a world government has persisted. From Cecil Rhodes' vision of a global British Empire, to Woodrow Wilson's vision of a League of Nations, to Franklin Roosevelt's creation of the United Nations, this dream of a world government has advanced. In Berlin, Barack Obama announced that he is a "citizen of the world." He and his administration are about to pay homage to that global citizenship.

The people who created the League of Nations for Woodrow Wilson were behind-the-scenes advisors. In the United States, Wilson's advisors were known as Edward Mandell House's "Inquiry." In England, the government was advised by Alfred Milner's group called the "Chatham House Gang," created by Cecil Rhodes in 1891. These two groups drafted the Treaty of Versailles which ended the First World War — and created the League of Nations.

During the final days of treaty negotiations these two groups met at the Majestic Hotel in Paris and decided to formalize their organizations. The European group became the Royal Institute of International Affairs, and House's group became the Council on Foreign Relations. These two groups have been the sustaining power behind the idea of world government throughout the 20th century.

Franklin Roosevelt served in Wilson's administration and knew well Mandell's House's Inquiry, and the Council on Foreign Relations. Roosevelt's administration was filled with members of the CFR. In fact, Roosevelt's "New Deal," was a product of the CFR.

Roosevelt's son-in-law wrote:

"For a long time I felt that FDR had developed many thoughts and ideas that were his own to benefit this country, the USA. But he didn't. Most of his thoughts, his political ammunition,' as it were, was carefully manufactured for him in advance by the CFR-One World Money Group." (Curtis Dall, FDR: My exploited Father-in-law, 1967)

The majority of Roosevelt's committee that drafted the United Nations Charter were members of the Council on Foreign Relations. Every administration since Roosevelt's has been dominated by members of the CFR. During Bill Clinton's administration, Washington Post writer, Richard Harwood reported that the Council on Foreign Relations is "...the closest thing we have to a ruling Establishment in the United States," and went on to identify dozens of CFR members in the White House. (Washington Post, Oct. 30, 1993, p. A-21)

CFR members dominated both of the Bush administrations. Richard Haass served in both. Until June, 2003 he was Director of Planning at the State Department. He resigned to become the President of the Council on Foreign Relations in July, 2003.

Haass continues to push the idea of world government. In an article for the Taipei Times, Haass said: "...states must be prepared to cede some sovereignty to world bodies if the international system is to function." (Taipei Times, February 21, 2006)

Here is the crux of the matter: national sovereignty and global governance are mutually exclusive. Both cannot exist at the same time. A nation is either sovereign, or it is not.

The League of Nations failed because the United States was unwilling to cede its sovereignty to an international system. The United Nations has not failed because nations, including the United States, continue to cede sovereignty, as Haass says, to "world bodies."

The Council on Foreign Relations, and much of official Europe, are convinced that the only way the world can survive is through some form of global governance. They contend that: "Governance is not government — it is the framework of rules, institutions, and practices that set limits on the behavior of individuals, organizations and companies." (U.N. Human Development Report, 1999, page 34.) Any authority that can "...limit...the behavior of individuals, organizations and companies" — is a government.

For such a system of "governance" to work there must be a procedure for making laws and rules, an independent revenue stream, and a mechanism for enforcement. The rule-making procedure is well established. The International Criminal Court provides the basis for enforcement. But the absence, so far, of an independent revenue stream has prevented the United Nations from becoming the world government so many have envisioned for so long. The current economic crisis is the excuse needed to create a global mechanism to control the global economy and siphon off an independent revenue stream for the world government.

© Henry Lamb