to be, or not to be... a state

I have been thinking a lot lately about the issue of state (country) verses world and nationalism versus transnationalism. Which is better? I keep going back and forth... the pros and cons are strong on both sides. When it is good, it seems that it is quite good, and when it is bad, it seems to be very bad... on both sides of the issue.

There exits in the world today, and well I suppose that it has probably existed for centuries, a huge gap between the rich and poor of the world. The average age of death here in the states was just lowered because of obesity and obesity related diseases, while in other parts of the world (much of Africa) people are starving, and dying of malnourishment and related issues because they don't have the money to get the necessities to live a healthy life. (The number one killer of children under the age of 5... diarrhea and the dehydration that follows from unclean drinking water). Many believe that if there existed a global government than the divide between the rich and poor could become smaller, or at least millions of people would stop dying because they have no money. On the other hand, one could argue that on the state level there is also a divide between rich and poor, and if this continues to persist on a small scale, then creating a world government is not going to solve the problem on a larger scale.

Genocide has been a much discussed problem in the news as of late. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in Darfur, and the international community has done little to stop it. In the 1990's 1 million people were killed (in a 3 month window) in Rwanda, the rest of the world was very much in the know when the killings were taking place, but nothing was done to stop it. Why is this the case? Sovereignty. The state is a sovereign entity, therefore the international community has no control or say in the actions of the state. If a global government were created, genocide may become a thing of history. Further, abuses of corrupt governments the world over may come to an end if there were a higher power that were ruling over the state. Many believe however that politics and in turn government is corrupt, regardless of the level, so creating a world government would do no one any good in the long run because it too will be corrupt.

Some say that the opinions, cultures, and issues of the states are so different and diverse that a world government could never effectively serve the interests of the international community. Further, there is concern that the interests of the little guy (LDCs) will be overlooked to fulfill the concerns of the stronger states.

What are your thoughts? Really, I could use some insight. What do you have to say on the matter?