The major challenges we face as a society within the 21st century are on a global scale: climate change due to man made global warming, loss of biodiversity, water shortage, hunger, migration, over population, social inequality, health pandemics, war, transnational crime, to name the most relevant – see also the 17 “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs) from the United Nations.
The economy and international companies are well organised on a global scale (“economic globalisation“). The World Wide Web and the digital transformation of key activities work as a booster for these developments and lead to a concentration of capital and power (keyword: network effect).
Companies can work within a globalised market (Adam Smith, 1791: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of The Wealth of Nations) and can choose the most adequate environment in order to maximise profits. The consequence is a global competition within countries for legal, social, health and environmental standards (e.g. the lower taxes, the better for the companies).
This competition based on the concept of a “perfect market”, intended to provide a maximum utility resource allocation, obviously is not working sustainable.
We see rising temperatures, rising natural catastrophes, rising loss of biodiversity, rising debts of central banks (e.g. FED, ECB) due to the collectivisation of resulting costs from draughts, wildfires, floods, heatwaves, pandemics and wars, rising social inequalities, rising stress (major root cause for all kind of sicknesses like cardiovascular disease, burn-out, depression), rising numbers of broken relationships (while good relationships are most important for a healthy life) and rising loneliness.
Mimetic forces (greed, vanity, envy, jealousy, group-think) are the driving forces within liberated markets and trigger these unhealthy social developments and lead to an exploitation of nature (e.g. deforestation, meat production), natural resources (e.g. coal, oil, gas) and a downward movement of legal, social, health and environmental standards.
To develop and guarantee these basic standards (Adam Smith, 1761: The Theorie of Moral Sentiments), we need at least an equally strong global political power to balance all these mimetic forces of liberated markets on a global scale (“political globalisation“).
But:
we have a democratic vacuum on supra-national level
The political system is still organised mostly on national levels, and supra-national political institutions do not have the power and/or the necessary democratic legitimisation.
Currently, we have a democratic vacuum on supra-national level and lack global sustainability powered by efficient and transparent global (direct) democratic decision-making processes and structures.
we need a “Global Democratic Republic”
To reach this successfully, we think, this has to be done within an institutionalised “Global Democratic Republic”.
The concept of a “Democratic Republic” is historically speaking the most successful frame for wealth and prosperity. On a global scale it is new and includes a form of (grass-roots) democratically legitimised global constitution (based on the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”), global tax-system, global legislation (e.g. democratically elected UN General Assembly), execution, and justice institutions, and global independent media.
a democratic society is a healthy & thus sustainable society
With the IDGR we want to call for and support the development of such a “Global Democratic Republic” as the foundation for a healthy global society, supplied by a liberal global economy!
With the help of the World Wide Web, smartphones, blockchain, etc. we have got the technology now to organise global (direct) democracy.
a “Global Democratic Republic” will give (back) the power to the people on a global scale
A global political system institutionalised within a global parliament will focus on political discussions within competing political parties rather than national particular interests.
(Grass-roots) democratically legitimised global decision making will bring (back) the political power to the people, away from international corporations.
Global independent media and critical journalism, the essential 4th column of a democracy, can be financed through a global tax system. New journalism with a independent global focus can evolve and strengthen plural democratic discourse around the globe.