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Functional Sovereignty and the Common
Heritage of Mankind
Reshaping the International Order Part 3
Brent Jessop
Knowledge
Driven Revolution.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
"The achievement of this global planning and management
system calls for the conscious transfer of power - a gradual
transfer to be sure - from the nation State to the world organization.
Only when this transfer takes place can the organization become
effective and purposeful." - RIO: Reshaping the International
Order, 1976 (p185)
This article addresses the redefinition of sovereignty
from "territorial sovereignty" to "functional sovereignty" by The
Club of Rome. Also discussed is the use of the concept of the "common
heritage of mankind" to gain international control of not just the
oceans, atmosphere and outer space but also all material and non-material
resources.
The Club of Rome is a premiere think tank composed of approximately
100 members including leading scientists, philosophers, political
advisors, former politicians and many other influential bureaucrats
and technocrats. This series of articles describes the major conclusions
of the 1976 book Rio: Reshaping the International Order: A Report
to the Club of Rome [1] coordinated by Nobel Laureate Jan Tinbergen.
The RIO report "addresses the following question: what new international
order should be recommended to the world's statesmen and social groups
so as to meet, to the extent practically and realistically possible,
the urgent needs of today's population and the probable needs of future
generations?"
(Article continues below)
Part
1 of this series gives an overview of the proposed new international
order described by the RIO report as "humanistic socialism". This
includes: collective neighbourhood armies, a fully planned world economy,
global free trade, public international enterprises, proposed changes
in consumption patterns among other topics. Changes to the financial
system including international taxation and the creation of a World
Treasury, World Central Bank and World Currency are examined in part
2.
Territorial Sovereignty versus Functional Sovereignty
From RIO: Reshaping the International Order:
[Italicised text is original emphasis and bolded text
is added by author.]
"Given the growing list of problems confronting mankind,
every effort must be made to stimulate processes which point in
directions which can be deemed desirable. This would certainly apply,
for example, to the tendency towards the increasing centralization
of decision-making involving issues beyond national frontiers should
be viewed as a logical continuation of the process of change and
a precondition for the effective assertion of national sovereignty."
- 103
The "increasing centralization of [international] decision-making"
being a "precondition for the effective assertion of national sovereignty"
may seem contradictory. The reason for this misunderstanding is your
definition of sovereignty is based on an apparently outdated "territorial
sovereignty" instead of the much more modern and politically correct
"functional sovereignty".
"In other words, the traditional concept of territorial
sovereignty should be replaced by the concept of functional sovereignty,
which distinguishes jurisdiction over specific uses from sovereignty
over geographic space. This would permit the interweaving of national
jurisdiction and international competences within the same territorial
space and open the possibility of applying the concept of the common
heritage of mankind both beyond and within the limits of national
jurisdiction."- 172
That is right, "sovereignty" no longer involves governmental
control within a geographic space, rather it refers to governmental
control of specific functions within a geographic space. Which functions
would depend on the dictates of a world authority.
"Acceptance of these elements calls for a reinterpretation
of the concept of national sovereignty. Participation and social
control suggest a functional rather than a territorial interpretation
of sovereignty, or jurisdiction over determined uses rather than
geographical space. Conceptually, this interpretation will make
possible the progressive internationalization and socialization
of all world resources - material and non-material - based upon
the 'common heritage of mankind' principle. It also permits
the secure accommodation of inclusive and exclusive uses of these
resources, or, in other words, the interweaving of national and
international jurisdiction within the same territorial space...
Ultimately, we must air for decentralized sovereignty with
the network of strong international institutions which will make
it possible." - 82
Common Heritage of Mankind as "Functional Ownership"
"... the new concepts of functional sovereignty and functional
ownership (common heritage of mankind)." - 314
"The [Communist Yugoslavian] concept of social ownership and its
attributes are clearly applicable to the 'common heritage' concept."
- 81
"Effective planning and management calls for the fundamental restructuring
of the United Nations so as to give it broad economic powers and
a more decisive mandate for international economic decision-making...
It is also hoped that major changes in the United Nations structure
will be made over the next decade so that it is not only able to
play a more forceful role in world political affairs but it is also
able to become more of a World Development Authority in managing
the socio-economic affairs of the international community. ... The
most effective way of articulating the planning and management functions
of this organization would be through a functional confederation
of international organizations, based upon existing, restructured
and, in some instances, new United Nations agencies - to be linked
through an integrative machinery. This system and its machinery,
if it is really to reflect interdependencies between nations and
solidarity between peoples, should ultimately aim at the pooling
and sharing of all resources, material and non-material,
including means of production, with a view to ensuring effective
planning and management of the world economy and of global resource
use in a way which would meet the essential objectives of equity
and efficiency." - 185
"In the long term, and assuming progress towards the creation of
an equitable international economic and social order leading to
a pooling of material and non-material resources, mineral resources
will need to be viewed as a common heritage of mankind. This
concept implies both a real world market for all mineral resources
and a system of world taxation to replace national mining taxation.
The revenues collected should be redistributed among Third World
countries - possibly through such an agency as IDA [International
Development Association - World Bank group]...
This tax could, for instance, be introduced as one of a moderate
rate and gradually be raised to something in the order of 70 per
cent of profits on fossil fuels and 50 per cent of the value of
production of ores (including uranium).
Such a tax would, like the present taxes on oil products, in fact
be paid by the consumers...
Such a tax, at the rates proposed, would probably induce consumers
to restrict their consumption of mineral raw materials..." - 148
This concept includes the manipulation of the Third World
"national liberation" movements in the post colonial era. These are
only stepping stones toward "functional sovereignty".
"[Third World territorial sovereignty] is a weapon which
must be used in the struggle for a new international order." - 247
"After the exercise of national sovereignty by Third World countries
over their national resources has helped to establish more equality
between mineral producing and consuming countries, a switch to
the concept of the 'common heritage of mankind' is recommended and
a gradual transformation of the principle of territorial sovereignty
into functional sovereignty. This must be viewed as the most desirable
approach to the world management of national and other resources,
material and non-material." - 150
"Sovereignty and the Common Heritage of Mankind... the first objective
to be achieved is the attainment by Third World countries of full
sovereignty over their resources in compliance with the UNCERDS
[United Nations Charter of the Economic Rights and Duties of States].
Only after this objective has been achieved can the concept of the
common heritage of mankind, traditionally limited to resources considered
as res nullius such as the oceans and outer space, be
expanded to new domains such as mineral resources, science and technology,
means of production and other sources of wealth. After the exercise
of national sovereignty has contributed toward the creation of a
more equitable international order, the aim should be to pool all
world resources - material and non-material - with a view to ensuring
effective planning and management of the world economy and of global
resource use in a way which would meet the dual objectives of equity
and efficiency. In this perspective resources would need to be managed
on the basis of decentralized planetary sovereignty. Proposals contained
in the following chapters for the application of the common heritage
concept to particular fields should thus be viewed in this broader
context." - 123
Remember when you hear the term "Common Heritage of Mankind"
it does not just refer to the oceans, atmosphere and outer space,
it refers to all material and non-material resources. Anything that
might be considered a source of wealth would be brought under strict
international authority. Keep in mind non-material resources includes,
among other things, the education of "human resources".
Conclusion
The
next part in this series discusses the generation of public opinion
and the use of white coated propagandists. The creation of a World
Food Authority and its use for population control is examined in part
5. The final
article in this series deals with a variety of issues including
global solidarity, regional unions, legal changes and a standing United
Nations Peace Force.
[1] Quotes from Jan Tinbergen, RIO: Reshaping the International
Order: A Report to the Club of Rome (1976). ISBN 0-525-04340-3
Related Articles
Reshaping
the International Order Part 1: What Does a World Governed by Humanistic
Socialism Look Like?
Reshaping
the International Order Part 2: Reshaping the International Financial
Order
Reshaping
the International Order Part 4: Reshaping Public Opinion and the White
Coated Propagandists (April 28)
Reshaping
the International Order Part 5: Population Control and a World Food
Authority (May 5)
Reshaping
the International Order Part 6: A Glimpse into the New Order (May
12)
Also
see series on Mankind at the Turning Point: The Second Report to The
Club of Rome
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