It is said that if the League of Nations had done its job, we might have avoided World War II, the subjugation of eastern Europe, and the start of the cold war; and if the U.N. had done its job, we might have avoided many conflicts. These are good reasons for making the U.N. democratic, expanding it, and giving it teeth. This would force all the countries of the world to accept their shares of responsibility for resolving common problems like the arms trade, terrorism, hostages, ethnic disputes, foreign aid, border disputes, human rights, sanctions, refugees, Swiss bank accounts, and chemical, biological, and nuclear warfare. The list goes on.

A more democratic U.N. would reduce the development of blocs [the common market, the Arabs, the west, the 3rd world, NATO, SEATO, OAS, etc.].

When it came to an army, each country could drastically reduce its forces. These would be maintained as our states maintain national guard units. A larger U.N. force would be made up of what each country had to contribute: men, money, technology, or elite forces such as the Gurkas and legionnaires. Such a force would harness the inevitable rise of Germany, Japan and China.

The countries of the world have every selfish, practical, and noble reason for democratizing and expanding the U.N. #