Why aren't we citizens of Planet Earth, rather than citizens of "countries"?

Question

We're all humans, sharing this planet. What one does, affects others. Why do we make up arbitrary boundaries? Why not work together as one human race? It would make things much more efficient because we wouldn't make up strange rules that make things more difficult than they have to be?

Answer 1

It's a nice thought.

Unfortunately, people are so vastly different across the world that we wouldn't be able to have any type of central leadership without mass uprisings. Alexander, Rome, and several other empires (forgive my lack of solid grasp on ancient history), are clear evidence of a single territory being too large for any hope of a peaceful existence under a single governing body.

So why have governing bodies, you might ask? Well, people across the world are also so vastly uneducated that they wouldn't likely know how to live leaderless without regressing to anarchy. There are limits to the geographical size that a single unified group can occupy.

Answer 2

Because then space travelers would have to get a passport before leaving on a shuttle.

For a serious answer - although I like the idea of a world united on the surface, it may be a very bad idea. Advancements in evolution and in the marketplace happen due to competition. Once there is a single world government, they will not be competing with any other governments. Would the Soviet Union have disbanded and reformed if it was not is competition with the U.S.?

Answer 3

I get your point, but I thank God for countries with different laws...what if Sudan got to make all the laws for the world? Or Nazi Germany?

Answer 4

Counties have "citizens." Planets have "residents," or "occupants."

Answer 5

We are one!