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Manifesto for a New World Order

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Give George Monbiot a great deal of credit. What this work offers is some very thorough and thoughtful criticism of the current systems of internationalism and globalization, a sharp critique of the dominant counter logics of Marxism, Anarchism and other central positions of the Global Justice Movement(while giving them credit where due, as he does throughout) and it moves beyond to offer solid proposals for a world parliament, a refined UN and an updated version of Keynes' "Clearing House" concept which was spurned in the Bretton Woods 'debates'. In combination, these three bodies are supposed to replace the international governing bodies currently in place, instill greater democracy and promote sustainable living. It does sound very idealistic, right? Read the book. Monbiot is extremely well researched and is entirely forthcoming in admitting the hugeness of the tasks at hand, but is equally compelling in demonstrating that such a huge plan needs to be undertaken, and soon. Monbiot's work is realistic, without faltering into the trap of 'realism' and it's self-fulfilling pessimism.
Consider this work to be one of the major first steps, a serious and worthy proposal for further debate.

I read this when it was published in England under the title "Age of Consent: A Manifesto for a New World Order." I see the US publishers have changed the title, but no matter, it remains the most remarkable book I've read in this century and I suspect its influence will reverberate for the next one hundred years or more. Part of what I loved about it was how pithy he could be, making his points with remarkable elegance. I find myself seriously challenged by this book and hope I will rise to the challenges set forth in its pages. I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about the future and changing the fate of our world.

A lesson in not judging a book by its cover. What looks like a manual for anarchist or Marxist revolution turned out to be a very critical look at both the state of the world and the movements attempting to change it. Monbiot is clearly looking for pragmatic answers to global problems--he utterly refutes anarchy, Marxism and self-appointed world constitutionalists. Buy one for your protestor friend and help them understand how to make a real difference. For those who are looking for a bit of idealism mixed in with their practical politics, however, Monbiot satisfies as well. I was reminded of Emery Reves' Anatomy of Peace from the 1940s and thanked the powers that be for this "updated" version.

George Monbiot is a veteran activist who has expressed his strongly held views on a diverse range of topics such as Globalization, American Hegemony and Environmentalism through his column in the Guardian, a British newspaper. He has long held a reputation as an idealist - a person who sincerely believes that through united action, each and every citizen can change things - and this is a thread that runs very strongly through his book.

Monbiot goes straight for the jugular in this book, directly addressing the most important areas and suggesting ways in which they ought to be reformed. Some of the areas he tackles includes the reform of International Relations through a reform of the UN and its security council. Another large area he tackles is that of the current international financial system and the problems of the IMF and WTO and third world debt, something that he proposes to resolve by creating an international clearing union.

I will not delve too deeply into an analysis of his proposals here, but I think that many people will have a similar reaction to one that I had. I personally tend to be very realistic about what can be achieved and Monbiot's proposals struck me as being hopelessly impractical in many circumstances. Whilst agreeing with him that what he proposes might very well be the best thing to do, I see no way in being able to change the status quo so easily. In that, Monbiot has failed in his overall objective which he states in the last chapter - that of convincing people like me to take up the challenge and believe that radical change is possible through 'people power' alone. That said, it is precisely this goal - that of this book being a rallying cry, and his endeavour to get people to believe, that perhaps helps to stand apart from the whole plethora of literature on Globalization, and makes it so valuable.

This book clearly examines some of the key issues facing the world today and provides a powerful vision for changing things. Whether you agree with Monbiot or not, whether you think his views are implementable or not, it is perhaps still vital that you read it, in order to gain a clearer grasp of the problems that are facing us.

George Monbiot's 'Age of Consent', to give this book its original title upon its initial publication in the UK, is a powerful and visionary call to arms from a seasoned campaigner of the Global Resistance Movement. With devastating clarity of thought, the author sets out a detailed and ambitious blueprint for creating a fairer, more just world, while simultaneously exposing the muddled thinking of those who would lead us down the blind alleys of neo-liberalism, Marxism, anarchism, or 'consumer democracy'.

Ironically for a fully paid-up member of the so-called 'Anti-Globalization Movement, one of Monbiot's central arguments is that there is, paradoxically, a need for more rather than less globalization - in the sense of greater connectivity between people beyond national frontiers as opposed to the unrepresentative and undemocratic 'internationalism', which at present merely masquerades as globalization.

Though Monbiot has been, and will continue to be, criticized for his lack of realism, such shortsighted reactions only serve to underline how vital his horizon-expanding views are to defining the early 21st-century zeitgeist. This book's central aim is clearly to inspire its readers to act, a goal in which it will undoubtedly succeed.

To quote the author's opening broadside: "Everything has been globalised except our consent. Democracy alone has been confined to the nation state. It stands at the national border, suitcase in hand, without a passport." Indeed, releasing democracy from its current shackles must surely be the foremost challenge of our times - fortunately, this book may well provide the key!

The idea of a world government is not new, and it is not a novel thought that humans to achieve the species' highest potential must become unified. The trick is how to unify humanity. Here, Monbiot fails to provide a realistic, understandable method for doing so, and thus deserves an incomplete grade. The missing ingredient, of course, is applying the same federalistic principles used to unify the 13 American states.

George Monbiot lays out his proposal for a New World Order which consists of two major points:

1. A global parliament
2. A restructuring of unguided capitalism (ultimately a destruction of capitalism which he advocates in the end) in favor of a more democratically "fair" trade scenario in which people of all economic levels have a greater say in how their economic situation is presented.

Monbiot claims to be an enemy of the usual Marxist or Anarchists who currently seem to dominate the global justice movement. He is instead in favor of highly democratic, global system of economic governance that would ultimately make governments and huge mega-corporations "play fair" in the global economic arena. As he purports, the globalization phenomenon has placed the world in the hands of mega-corporations and has been taken out of the hands of its global citizens where it should be. Rampant, unchecked capitalism has taken the form of an all consuming monster that feeds on the poor nations of the world, says Monbiot, and it is up to every citizen to demand a stop to this unbalanced, raping of poor countries.

Monbiot is well aware that his cause could be construed as some form of Marxist, or socialist foundation, so he makes great efforts to distance himself from that notion and to place himself in a global democracy; a true democracy, as he says. One unlike what we have now where poor nations and our environment are at the hands of unrestrained capitalists. Part of this global parliament would arise mostly out of a revamped economic system that would resemble the current fair trade movement already in play (a trade policy where individual companies, independent from WTO control, demand fair labor laws, fair prices, and consumer awareness in order to create an economic base that is mutually beneficial to everyone in the production chain on all levels: not just beneficial to a corporation and consumer).

To be honest, I didn't really get much out of this book. Monbiot makes some good points about why this world revolution needs to occur, but provides little incentive other than to "get off your duff and do something." Also, while his vision is very specific and elaborate, it is going to take a series of steps that merge in his direction, not a single revolution as he suggests. These steps may not even fulfill his ultimate goal, but could be implemented to satisfy all involved. But by simple pointing out the evils of unbridled capitalism, Monbiot will not persuade anyone in power-positions to listen to him (which, I guess he accepts and is depending on "the average man" to step up to the plate). He attempts, in the beginning, to present a very logical, and non-radical approach to the problem and its solutions, but by the end, he comes off as just another radical, wannabe revolutionary who has nothing really to offer except anger at the system. Anger that is understandable, but his presentation is very similar to Marx's manifesto (in the sense that it is aimed more at those already involved in the global justice movement).
He attempts to bridge the gap between players already immersed in the anti-globalization, and global justice movements, but ultimately only sings to the choir. Monbiot fails to bring in new members to his cause and fails to thoroughly educate one on the basics of the global justice movement, or the ramifications for an average Western citizen. In other words, what's in it for me? I realize that the suffering of poor nations should be enough to get me fired up, but by Monbiot's book alone, I don't feel as though the problem has been thoroughly delivered. If this were any other book on the subjects of global economy and its pitfalls, I wouldn't expect the author to have this responsibility. But putting this book in the form of a manifesto is supposed to do just that: declare to the world your cause, the problems, and the solutions in a clear, concise manner (even at the end of the book, Monbiot admits that he wrote this book in reverse order by mistake. He talks about the global parliament first, and then a restructuring/destruction of capitalism when he should've talked about the new economic systems needed to bring about a global parliament first). If one can't convey one's message to the masses who aren't already on board, then Monbiot will never get the mass revolution he desires.

I normally don't read books like this because on most offer problems according to personal opinions. However, while performing research for my upcoming book on terrorism, I decided to read this for references. After all, a good part of terrorism's success comes from manipulating the "Have nots" to perform deadly acts on the "Haves".

For the most part, Monbiot has captured the right ideas on how to correct the world's political wrongness, but his solutions are far-fetched. This is no discredit to his ideas, but the reality that no world power like the USA and European nations are going to permit developing nations have a voice in their affairs. That, in itself, explains the problem of world globalization and why history will ultimately repeat itself once more as we soon will play witness to another world power fall and others to rise.

One topic that isn't address is the fact that there are mafias in the poorest of countries and the reality that most of these third world countries are kept in poverty because of their own governments desire to rule their people by keeping them in need. No matter how many steps are taken towards a world democracy, world corruption will continue to remain the largest single problem in maintaining peace on earth. And, as I started out this review, the terrorist know this all too well. They will continue to manipulate the needy to carry out their own devastating acts.

Monbiot's manifesto is a lucid and often elegant call for a radical transformation of systems of global governance. His writing is reasoned and quick, rarely wasting a word, which lends precision and power to his argument. His basic premise is that humanity is doomed to a future of continuing war between nations, increasing inequity between the powerful few and the impoverished many, and environmental devastation unless and until we make the transition to the "metaphysical mutation" whereby we begin to see ourselves first and foremost as a single species rather than as loyal members of mutually exclusive communities.

In the meantime, he argues, the "least worst" political arrangement that provides a balance against the "dictatorship of vested interests" that is the inevitable consequence of unfettered commerce is institutional democracy. The world has already been globalized economically, but the resulting inequities of power and privilege have not been formed by consent of the world's people. What is needed is a global democratic revolution that will establish democratic political institutions measured to the will of the people.

Monbiot believes that the current international institutions are solidly in the grip of a few developed powers, particularly the US, and that they are constitutionally beyond democratic reform. New institutions will be required which are designed to function by democratic consent from the start.

Monbiot suggests three major institutions that could form the basis of a new more equitable global democracy. The first is a world parliament. Every human being on earth would receive one vote. Representatives to parliament would be elected by populations divided by number and not national, racial, or other designation. The world parliament would function as a forum by means of which the existing political and economic powers would be held to account in the formal court of global public opinion. As this parliament is neither formed by nor beholden to existing powers, we can build it now. "This assembly will belong to the people, and we require no one's permission to establish it."

Secondly, Monbiot calls for the creation of an International Clearing House, along the lines suggested by John Maynard Keynes, which would function as a new global reserve system. It would create a new and independent currency as the unit of account of trade between nations, freeing national treasuries from dependence on the US dollar (the current standard for national reserves), and it would provide various financial mechanisms ensuring the balance of trade between nations.

Finally, Monbiot wants to see the creation of a Fair Trade Organization which would "prescribe and enforce the standards to which corporations wishing to trade internationally must conform." By virtue of it's democratic composition, whereby poorer nations may join their interests in opposition to the rich, the FTO would provide a mechanism for the global redistribution of wealth through trade; a leveling of fortunes that is the precondition of global stability.

"Nice ideas, but they will never happen." Maybe, maybe not. But what is clear is that we already live in a globally integrated economic society, and it is lacking the accountability of democratic political governance. Left to it's own devices a few men at the head of a few massive corporations are going to rule the world. Or we will devolve into a chaos of international resource wars. The center will not hold, mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Why do we establish governments in the first place? To assure that power is subject to the will of the people. The metaphysical mutation has already happened. We as humans are one species inhabiting one shared environment. Unless the existing international institutions find themselves capable of radical democratic reform, we will have to replace them. Whatever you think of the particulars of his plan, at least Monbiot has gone a long way towards envisioning a viable alternative. It's a good place to start.

I largely support the reviews given by the other reviewers to date (1 June 2009). I can also recommend a solution to the problems of globalisation: The International Simultaneous Policy Organisation is able to provide the means for control of the excesses of international capitalism and private banking.