Forward
For those who believe the tenets of evolution, the human species, Homo sapiens, appeared on Earth approximately 250,000 years ago, with our present day subspecies evolving around 40,000 years ago. Humans most likely came together to live in groups as a matter of practicality; it was simply safer to live and easier to hunt for food. Simple familial and tribal organizations appeared which set forth basic rules of conduct and imposed a morality. If you help gather food, you will eat. If you touch my woman, you may pay dearly. Help each other. Clean up after yourself. In short, these groups lived by the basic principles set forth by Robert Fulghum in All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
A quantum leap occurred between eight and ten thousand years ago when agriculture appeared in numerous areas around the globe. From that point on, increasingly more complex social structures came to be. The species was really thriving now. Hunger and starvation would finally disappear. Mankind had really arrived. "The peak of civilization has been attained", they surely thought. People could now settle down and form permanent cities; and they did. Early neolithic cities such as Jericho thrived, primarily due to the successful development of agriculture.
Nearly 1800 years ago Hammurabi controlled the Babylonian empire, where he established a thorough set of laws and developed and improved irrigation, navigation, and a system of taxation. A sophisticated, and for its day, a prosperous lifestyle emerged. Mankind had really arrived. "The peak of civilization has been attained", they surely thought.
As more and more civilizations appeared and grew in number and geographical spread, they began to compete for resources; land, food, ideology, and power. To some extent this imperialism was balanced at times by the establishment of trade alliances and the need for friendly sources of raw materials. At other times, countries were attacked, vanquished, and assimilated along with their labor and resources. Entire races were enslaved for generations. The leaders of these city-states and later countries, whether chosen by their people or self-proclaimed, have always had their party's goals and agendas, often with little or no true interest in the welfare of the people they ruled. Mankind had really arrived. "The peak of civilization has been attained", they surely thought. Or, at least the ruling races felt so.
These governments employed many different methods to rule or control their populations. Some countries attempted to establish a government that fairly represented the will of the people. Democratic and socialistic empires flourished, but even with such good intentions, there were often paralyzing struggles between political parties for control of power. Other countries were ruled by oppressive regimes that capitalized on fear, punishing limitation of human rights, and punishment to maintain social order and more importantly the power of the ruling party.
During the same millennia there were unparalleled advancements in technology and thinking that were able to greatly improve the standard of living for humans. Agricultural advancements including crop rotation, fertilization, irrigation, pesticides, and hybrid breeding dramatically increased both the quality and the yield of crops; even in soils that were nearly barren. Engineering advancements brought efficient transportation, labor-saving devices, comfortable housing, and new energy sources. Medical advancements fulfilled the promise of prevention, treatment, and elimination of diseases. Unfortunately, due to the structures of the existing governments and the very concept of separate countries, there was not an equal sharing of the world's resources. Whether a governmental system was capitalistic, totalitarian, socialistic, or anarchistic, there were still those with unmet basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter; and those wallowing in gluttonous wealth.
This inequality lead to several multinational and world wars as the most powerful nations struggled to control the political and ideological destiny of the few remaining developing nations.
It was at this point in history that the social order began to crumble; the fiber that held one country to another began to unravel. Seemingly overnight, the wealthiest and most powerful nations of the world found themselves under attack by invisible agents; terrorists. These shadowy organizations, consisting of radicals from impoverished countries and malcontents from within, carried out unpredictable and cruel acts of terrorism. Large public buildings were bombed, the mail system was contaminated with bacterial agents, and food and medical supplies were tainted. Once simple daily tasks long taken for granted such as mailing a letter, placing a telephone call, riding public transportation, or even buying a loaf of safe, wholesome bread were now impossible The infrastructure of every major government in the world came to a grinding halt.
Massive military campaigns were launched in attempt to combat this threat. Many innocent countries suffered terrible casualties as the offended nations attempted to neutralize the aggressors. And, as they fought back, the attacking nations also lost many brave lives in the name of patriotism, self-defense, and justice. Ironically, nearly every party involved believed that they were the righteous ones and that God was on their army's side. After almost two decades of fighting, and the loss of half a generation of young men and women from nearly every country, the world was exhausted, despondent, and ready to finally come to the bargaining table.
When the world leaders met, there were many proposals made; each aiming to align various countries in favorable trade alliances, military protection pacts, and to balance regional or world power. There was to be no agreement on the terms. Finally, one delegate stood up and in a feeble voice read a poem, the lyrics to Imagine by John Lennon. Suddenly, the song made sense. Nobody was laughing. What if there only was one government; no trade, no money, no military competition? What if the world could use the astronomical resources that had for the past twenty years been committed to destruction and defense, and instead spend them on improving the quality of life; really helping people? That was the resolution made in the year 2020.