What if the world was one country? This is a question that many people have asked themselves, and some of them are even trying to make it happen! For now, we will imagine this as an experiment. Imagine that there is just one country in the world. What would life be like for people living there? How would they go about their day-to-day lives differently than before? We will explore these questions below by exploring hypothetical scenarios for how life might change.
What would the country’s economy be like? Currently, there is a lot of competition between countries for who can produce food and other resources more efficiently. If we were all in one country, how much value does that resource have when it becomes plentiful instead of scarce? What if people living in this new world didn’t need money anymore because they got everything they needed from their environment or community? Would it still make sense to trade goods with each other on an international level?
How might life changes for children born into these circumstances change over time? How might parents raise them differently than before since now every parent has responsibility for raising kids together? Would public schools even exist in this new reality where everyone lives so close geographically?
The truth in oneness
We share our home with many different species. There are approximately 7 billion humans on the face of this planet. In many ways, there are no borders, no nations, only human beings living in the many different areas of Earth. Natural barriers like oceans and mountains create borders between us, and we should fully realize that national borders are illusions created in states of conflict or agreement.
An astronaut from the 1969 Apollo 9 mission in space said it best. He stated that how his perspective radically shifted when looking at the Earth from space. He felt connected to everyone and everything. There are no boundaries or borders, nothing separating us from space. This is truth and reality. We belong to the Earth and a species. We are not connected to nations or tied to a nationality. We are both unique individuals and part of a collective consciousness.
The evils in nationalism
The question is then, why do we allow governments to separate us as human beings? Why are we forced to take on these different national identities as part of ourselves? A bigger question is why are we nationalized, forced to compete and fight with one another? There is a psychological theory of managing terror that may hold the answer. When people are forced into increased fear, insecurity, and anxiousness, they tend to focus on status, nationalism, and success.
They cling to false identities and look for examples in their realities that can give them the slightest feeling of validation and self-importance. This theory would explain why nationalism grows when there are times of uncertainty and crisis. History shows that in times of struggle and economic hardship, ethnic conflict increases, as does nationalism. Conceptual labels become all-important to a sense of identity because of an increased sense of insecurity due to external existential threats. An instinctual impulse to gain strength with others who share beliefs and convictions takes over the individual.
People who feel the greatest sense of isolation and separation have the highest levels of anxiety and insecurity. These are the same people who need more connection with others. Their lack of connection leads them to cling to the false and dangerous illusions of racism, fundamentalist religion, and nationalism.
Shifting beyond what separates us
We need to realize our true state of interconnectedness. People who experience higher states of well-being commonly feel a strong connection to others and the Earth. Profound personal transformation takes place in times of turmoil. People can shift up into higher states of personal development, allowing for richer life experiences, heightened awareness of the joy of being a part of everything and everyone, and gaining a renewed perspective on how to create more closely connected authentic relationships with others.
