Final Paper Draft (Riddlestorffer)

Introduction

            The world in which we know it is an ever-evolving realm where humans have worked together to achieve peace and prosperity. As time has gone on, societies have grown and developed from primal states to more sophisticated ones. States have learned which forms of governments have worked best, and which ones have fallen by the wayside. Some government systems have been abandoned for new, more complex ones, while others were abandoned simply because the world did not see feasibility for them in the present day. But what if the world system were to change in future years?

            Globalization has been a driving force for the interconnectedness of the various states throughout the world. Although it may not be new, globalization has continued to rise in prominence, reestablishing how the world system will look in the future. Dr. Francis Fukuyama argues that as time goes on the world may move towards holding more universal ideals than not (“Economic Globalization and Culture”). Through this growing reliance on universal ideals, the state system as we know may vanish and be replaced by something else.

            This paper will examine what the world would look like if it were to be shaped into a modern-day empirical system. The empirical system, last seen prominently through the Romans and various Asian countries, has long been abandoned for the independent sovereignty of states. However, as seen above, globalization could be a driving force to move away from independence and towards growing dependence on other states. In the future, globalization will cause states to congregate power into a few major empires situated throughout the world. First, I will explain how the world would ultimately achieve this futuristic state system, and what the parameters would be. Then, I will examine how the modern-day empirical system will affect the major tenants of globalization: economics, culture, and society as a whole. Through the empirical system, the world will see more economic prosperity, peace, and ultimately a greater understanding and respect for fellow societies.

How Did We Get Here?

            In order for the world to move towards an empirical system, there needs to be some sort of systematic problems plaguing much of the world to warrant the shift. In the future, one of the most probable systematic problems would be the congregation of wealth. Although globalization has allowed for a rise in trade throughout the world, it has also increased the exploitation by world-powerhouses of various countries (primarily third-world) for goods at an extremely cheap rate. These powerhouses then continue to gain wealth while the smaller countries struggle to prosper. As the world continues to rely on one another for trade and countries constantly seek to find cheaper alternatives, it is reasonable to believe that this redistribution of wealth will not only continue but get worse as well.

            This downward spiral of the wealth gap would be a major driving force in the invention of the empirical system because it would lead to the weakening of many states. The loss of economic power can be devastating to a country, as seen in Germany during the 1900s, and can lead to drastic issues that go well beyond the economy.  While the established powers see prominence and prosperity, the exploited nations begin to see the exact opposite: degradation of the society caused by factors such as civil unrest. In states that do not have sound government systems to combat the issues of civil unrest, the state could risk becoming a failed one. Globalization can systematically cause this to happen throughout the world at the same time, creating dozens of failing/failed states. A major fear from the rise of these failed states is unfit leaders coming to power. If the wrong people attain power, it could be catastrophic to the world as a whole.

            In order to combat the issues of the systematic failure of states throughout the world, many of the world’s powers would meet to come up with the best solution. Thanks to globalization, one of the best answers would be a congregation of power. Much like in economic unions, the states would give up their power to a large, over-arching power. However, rather than this just being purely economic the over-arching powers would have control over all aspects of the society to handle as they see fit. This gathering of power over smaller societies to create only a few larger ones would lead the world to the modern day empirical system, one that was unlike any others seen in history.

What Does The Empirical World Look Like?

            Unlike the empires of the past, the modern day empirical system would feature a series of regional empires, each having governance and sovereignty over their surrounding countries/territories. Ideally these would be set up on the various continents, in order to keep the boundaries simple. Rather than relying on the hard boundaries that independent states valued, these boundaries would be loose, such as the territory that once belonged to Turkey being the separation of the Europe and Asian Empires. Each of these empires would have their own individual means of governance, as well as delegation of power. The collective governing empires would work together to ensure peace throughout the world.

North America

            It is reasonable to expect that the North American Empire would be centered on to United States. Being the premier powerhouse in the region both economically and militarily, the U.S. is the obvious pick to be the nation that states gravitated towards for stability. The North American Empire would consist of the U.S., Mexico, Canada, the islands of the Caribbean, and some of the countries in Central America (with their being no true borders, there is no true stake in these lands between the two adjacent empires).

            The North American Empire will be unique to the others in the respect that it is going to have the most democratic system of leadership. While all of the “countries” (which are now territories of the empire) serve under one ruling power, each area has governors that have control over their territories. These governors have the authority to go about their daily life as they see fit, provided that they pay taxes, assemble the necessary military standards, and maintain order that is cohesive to the guidelines set by the central government. The central government would be a democratic senatorial system, having elected representatives from each territory (based on population like the House of Representatives in the U.S.), which makes laws/regulations for the betterment of the empire as a whole. Among these representatives is chosen an emperor, whose primary function is similar to that of the U.S. President. The emperor would also be the chief diplomat between the other empires in the world. This democratic senatorial system governing the North America allows for ideas from throughout the empire to be represented, as well as stability through a clear chain of command in leadership over the region. Of the empires in the world, the North American would be looked upon as the model for success and stability.

South America

            There is some fluidity as to where the South American Empire would be centered. In the belief that globalization is going to continue the current path it is on, one can reasonably suspect Brazil to continue its economic growth and become a powerhouse economically both regionally and on the world stage. Despite some civil issues, Brazil has the opportunity to be the center of the South American Empire, which would consist of the countries of South America and some areas of Central America (as mentioned above).

            The set up of the government in the South American Empire would differ from that of the North American Empire in the fact that there is no de-facto leading country in the region. Yes, Brazil has developed a strong economy, but that is one of few things that separate it from other region powers such as Argentina. Because the region lacks a supreme country that is a clear separation from the others, the governance of various regions would be split up among a few major countries. In the oligarchical approach to governing, the major countries (such as Brazil, Argentina, and Chile) would have control over the smaller countries, with a chain of command similar to those seen in the North American Empire. By setting up an oligarchy to head the central government, the differing opinions can sometimes cause issues as to how to deal with the other empires. Despite these issues, the South American Empire is able to see prosperity and stability in the region that was absent beforehand.

Europe

            Europe was the closest country to having already established the foundation of an empire through the creation of the European Union. As time went on, the EU would essentially continue to grow in power. Rather than just having economic power over the region, all countries in the region would give up much of the government and military power for the greater good of the European Empire. For simplicity, the Empire would still be centered in Brussels, but would now have all the countries of Europe being part of the territory. The transition to the empirical system would most likely be easiest for this region, because the ground was already broken on a union many years in the past.

            The government system would be very similar to that seen in the North American Empire, with the creation of a senatorial system. However, the major difference is the value of each territory’s representation.  The EU had already set up a representation system that gave each country equal weight in the decision making, so there is no reason to believe that they would shy away from this method. Since each of the countries is relatively the same size, there is no reason to suspect there to be an issue regarding this. Each country would have control over its territory and answer to the demands of the central government when needed. The central government would also have an elected leader to serve as ambassador to each of the other empires when needed. Much like the North American Empire, there is no reason to believe that there would be much turmoil in the European Empire because of the systems that had already been set up. Despite all of its homogeneity, because of its lack of superior economic/military strength the European Empire is still on a lower tier than the North American Empire.

Asia

            The creation of the Asian Empire might be the most controversial of all the others combined. This is so because of the main players involved: Russia and China, both of which would be extremely reluctant to give up any of their power. The Asian Empire, consisting of the countries of Asia, as well as Australia, would be the largest of all the empires. The sheer size of the empire makes the governance extremely important to ensure that it will not collapse. The government therefore would not have one central area, but rather major outposts (i.e. Moscow, Beijing, New Dehli, and Sydney). These outposts would provide the Asian Empire with the best opportunity to maintain order.

            After much controversy, the closest thing that the Asian Empire’s central government would resemble is that of the People’s Republic of China. Although it is democratic in name, the foundations of the government resemble the ideals of communism. Much of the power would be congregated between Russia and China, both of whom would constantly struggle for who would be the major power in control. Making decisions as to what is best for the empire always come with much opposition from the other side, continuing the problems of cooperation and instability. Despite all of the major troubles that the empire faces, the Asian Empire’s power economically and militarily rivals that of the North American Empire. The lack of stability in the government is the key that sets these governments apart.

Africa

            Africa’s position in respect to the world’s empire is fairly interesting, considering that there are no indications that neither one country in the region is going to set itself apart from the others to become supreme, nor the countries ban together to create a succinct union. The constant turmoil exhibited on the continent and volume of failing states makes it difficult to believe that an African Empire would ever last. Because of this, Africa would most likely be split up amongst the world’s other empires. Much like the splitting up of Africa in the 19^th century, each empire would essentially get a slice of the continent in which they are charged with governing. However, it is the responsibility of all the empires as a whole to ensure the wellbeing of the citizens of the continent.

***Rogue States***

            While many of the countries will willingly congregate their power in the future, some are going to be more reluctant than others. States such as Iran, ISIS (for the purposes of this paper it is assumed they have become a state), and North Korea are all examples of what would be looked upon as rogue states. These rogue states could end up being a major issue in maintaining peace throughout the world, so the way that many of them would be handled would be militarily. Once the empires had been set up, each gaining stronger military capabilities, the respective empires would use their new power to liberate these rogue states. This would help to quell any controversy in the region and ensure the most optimal level of peace.

Effects of the Empirical System

            The creation of the empirical system on the world stage would have dramatic effects on various aspects of society. Globalization itself is founded on the interconnectedness of the world economically, culturally, and socially. Examining each of these aspects will provide a better understanding of the state of the world.

Economically

            While globalization’s negative effects on the economy may have lead to the creation of the empirical system, the world will see an upswing in economic prosperity since its inception. One of the major reasons each of the empires will see success is the congregation of resources and talent into one over-arching power. Much like mergers of corporations, the establishment of the empires has allowed the empire to gain valuable and necessary resources at no added cost, making domestic economic prosperity higher. Territories within the empire partake in small-scale trade of goods, allowing for specialization of goods. The empires have less reliance on one another because they have almost all the resources necessary for survival, allowing them to be self-sufficient.

            Although each of the empires can be self-sufficient, this does not mean that there is an elimination of trade between empires. In the past, channels such as the Silk Road provided a means of trade between the Roman Empires and the major powers in the east. While much of this trade was unnecessary (because each power could survive independently of the other), it continued as a means of exchange of luxury goods. This similar concept will continue in the modern day empirical system. Although empires do not need goods from another survival, the exchange of luxury goods will continue to thrive. One of the most prominent trade exchanges would come through the trade of technology. Empires would work together to allow for these exchanges to continue, allowing for the world economy to see growth of new heights thanks to the creation of the system.

Socially

(This section will cover how the creation of the empirical system has helped to create a heightened sense of peace. Regional problems are handled by the respective empires, and there is an elimination of inter-empire trade)

Culturally

(This is very similar to the economics in the sense that although there is no need for trade, there is also a trade of culture and ideas throughout the world. This is already seen in the current scopes of globalization, and it will only continue to grow. There will be an exchange of talent as well, and people will be permitted to visit other empires)