Author
Abstract
This chapter challenges the prevailing libertarian hostility toward political globalism and a potential world-spanning polity. Martin van Staden argues that such a polity is likely inevitable due to historical trends of political consolidation, intensifying globalisation, and the growing authority of international institutions. Rather than reflexively opposing it through boycott or denial – which could prove counterproductive – libertarians should engage constructively to shape its constitutional design in a freedom-enhancing direction.
The paper distinguishes globalisation (economic and cultural interconnectedness, generally positive) from globalism (political integration via supranational institutions). It critiques the paleolibertarian preference for multiple sovereign nation-states as a form of decentralisation, arguing that this confuses “estate” (private property) with “State” and often fails to limit power or provide genuine exit options. Sovereign states do not inherently check one another and can enable localised tyranny.
Drawing on classical liberals like FA Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Clarence Streit, the author contends that libertarianism’s cosmopolitan essence – focused on the abstract Individual and universal self-ownership – aligns more naturally with overlapping, shared sovereignties within a single world polity than with fragmented national peaks of unqualified sovereignty. A properly designed federal world order, emphasising polycentric checks-and-balances, subsidiarity, and the doctrine of the lesser (and greater) magistrate, could diffuse power more effectively than today’s territorial states. Heterogeneity and distance at the global level would constrain familiarity-driven interference, forcing governance toward abstract, general rules of just conduct rather than particularistic or emotional policies.
The chapter advocates a neolibertarian agenda: limited government at every level, with global institutions serving as additional checks on national overreach while themselves being strictly constrained. Libertarians must reject oppositional politics on this issue and participate in discourse to ensure any future world polity prioritises individual liberty, free markets, and decentralisation over central planning or redistribution. A world polity need not be contrary to limited government; it could prove complementary if shaped by libertarian principles.