is ready to contribute what is perhaps a very satisfactory means of maintaining this much-desired universal peace.
3. The World Executive.—To the present time no definite plan for a world executive has been proposed; no movement to establish this has been put on foot. Provisions for this department will no doubt be made later as the occasion requires. No one knows what form it will take. It will hardly be delegated to one man, or even a few men. The international parliament may appoint a committee for all necessary administrative work; this may be divided into a number of bureaus having charge of the various kinds of administration. If any armed coercion is necessary to enforce international laws, the combined fleets of a number of powers may be used, as has been the case in the last century when the powers coerced Turkey.
4. The Purpose of the World State.—We have been discussing the origin, organization and characteristics of the proposed world state—now a few words as to its purpose and the place it will fill. Its purpose will be: (1) To provide a definite recognized code of international law; (2) to establish a tribunal which will apply this law, which will arbitrate disputes arising between nations and prevent the disagreeable and disastrous clashes between the peoples of the civilized world. International law at the present time is unsatisfactory. It does not have the force of law as does municipal law; it is not uniform. There is need of a legally constituted body to weed out inconsistencies, to bring in uniformity, to make new laws for the numerous points which are still undecided and which are bound to appear as the intercourse of nations becomes more and more extensive. No one will dispute that the world state will fill a definite place.
5. Why the Present Movement for a World State ought to succeed.—A proposal to establish a world state will naturally have its critics—many will doubt the success of such an undertaking. But there are a number of reasons why success can be hoped for some time in the future. Immanuel Kant in his 'Perpetual Peace'[1] declares that the following things are necessary for a world state: (1) All nations should have representative government; (2) successful systems of federal government must have been established in part of the world; (3) there must be a moral force to support the effort. This statement is mere opinion, but the opinion of this writer may well be cited as worth consideration. It seems to us that these things are essentials. To what extent are these requirements fulfilled at the present time?
Representative government has been attained by all the christian states of Europe except Russia; and undoubtedly the Russian people will also secure some measure of political liberty before the present disturbances are permanently allayed. All important nations and
- ↑ 'Saemmtliche Werke' Vol. VI., pp. 416-427.
