July 9, 2006
COMMENTARY: A World of Nation-Blocs
By Tom Proebsting
Special to HNN
Moberly, MO (HNN) -- The Roman Empire was the last world government and
world economy. Rome’s government ruled all of civilization as its superior
army, scattered strategically throughout its subjects’ lands, secured the
empire. Trade took place worldwide with merchants traveling by land and sea
to barter and vend. The world empire resisted the persistent attacks from
outsiders for one thousand years. The western section of the empire, Europe,
finally fell to German invaders around 500 A.D.
The Early Middle Ages (500 to 1050) was characterized by decreased
centralized government and slackened trade. Each town or village governed
itself. Agriculture, grown by and sold to primarily the townspeople, was the
main staple. By around 1200, the Agricultural Revolution started and the
result was that crops improved, populations increased, and towns grew. Trade
increased in volume and in distances as the decades passed.
By the 1600’s the Renaissance and Enlightenment hit Europe full force. Kings
and queens ruled empires and nations, such as Great Britain and France.
Cities and nation-states flourished and trade spread to all corners of the
earth. By the 1700’s, great trading enterprises sold agriculture to
customers near and far. By the 1800’s, the Industrial Revolution arrived and
international firms sold new machinery and mechanical inventions the world
over.
During the last sixty years there has been an occurrence not seen since the
days of the Roman Empire. Six nations formed the European Coal and Steel
Community in 1951. It proceeded to grow into the European Union (EU) which
has 25 member nations at present. The EU elects its own president and has
executive, legislative and judicial branches. They have formed their own
military, have a common currency, and their borders are more or less porous.
When the EU started, it centered on economic factors. The governmental and
security details followed.
Other nations around the world are also forming economic communities or
trading nation-blocs. America is a member of NAFTA and CAFTA. Several
nations in South America are members of Mercosur and Andean. Several
countries in southern and Southeast Asia have joined ASEAN and SAARC. A
whole list of African nations has formed AEC, COMESA, and SACU. China and
Russia, along with four Central Asian nations make up the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization. These are merely a few of the new blocs around the
world. The Technology/Information Revolution revved up in the last 25 years
and has connected the earth’s citizens by computer and phone with the added
bonus of possessing any needed information at our fingertips. One of the
effects is that trade today is increasing in all areas, agricultural,
industrial, and technological.
The United Nations is currently not a major factor in unifying the world’s
nations as it spends a lot of time battling its own inefficiencies and
demons. It was created to form and lead countries through the Post World War
Two era of which the Cold War was a major factor. Many historical analysts
believe this period ended with the tearing down of the Berlin Wall and the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. We have entered a new, but yet undefined,
age. The United Nations is now showing the signs of waning and extinction
in this new age. It appears to be an idea whose time has come and gone. It
is likely that the major holdovers from the UN will be the World Bank and
the International Monetary Fund as money will always be needed for
governments and trade.
Can we expect the world’s trading nation-blocs to set up executive,
legislative, and judicial branches, complete with their own military just as
the EU did? We can peek into the future today. Many South American citizens
have desired some type of a federation between its nations since the days of
Simon Bolivar. Two trading blocs, Mercosur and Andean, plan to merge next
year into the South American Community of Nations (CSN). They seek to model
their new community after the European Union, complete with a central bank,
common currency, parliament, and common passport.
What other nations may decide to pattern their trading blocs after the EU?
Will Asian or African nations duplicate the European Union? What are
America’s plans—to remain sovereign or join a government community of
nations? It is simple to understand the advantages of a trading bloc
patterned after the European Union. Businesses will save a lot of money in
the free trade zones and there will be a rule of law and plenty of security.
America must decide on a course which will take it in the direction we need
to go in the twenty-first century. A sovereign America may offer the best
decision for our future as it has always put us on top. The pros and cons of
any other direction must be assiduously plotted and thought out.
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Tom Proebsting is a writer and blogger in Missouri. Tom Proebsting, 823 N.
Ault St. Moberly, MO 65270
e-mail: truthprobe777@yahoo.com
Proebsting invites comments. Reply to: http://truthprobe.blogspot.com