What the hell is the matter with people? I’m all in favor of a World Government (it can’t be much worse than World Anarchy), but Bill Gates in the starting XI? Richard Branson? And I yield to no-one in my admiration for Desmond Tutu, but can we just keep the clergy the hell out of government? And if we absolutely have to have a linguist in the cabal, does it have to be Noam Chomsky?
OK, look. I’ll keep Mr. Mandela as a figurehead, moral center and token terrorist, although he’s clearly not up to the task of actually governing anymore. I’ll put Jimmy Carter in charge of the gavel, ’cos the man deserves a little something, and ultimate power will have to do. After that—
Look, I haven’t a fucking clue. I wouldn’t mind having Muhammad Yunus in charge of the treasury. Maybe Amartya Sen should be at the table, too. I’d pick somebody with a good grasp of constitutional law from some reasonably stable constitutional democracy, perhaps Germany. I’d like somebody with a good background in administrative science. We’d need someone who knows a lot about agriculture, and water and all. But—here’s my point—any Council of Elders that contains more than three names with which I personally am familiar would be a Very Bad world government. That’s not because I’m ignorant or American or parochial or privileged. I think it’s probably an excellent general rule that any Council of Elders that contains more than three people who are familiar names to any reasonably well-informed person would be stacked with defenders of privilege and also with people who do not work well with Councils of Elders. That’s how it is.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.
gates and jobs, right next to each other in the voting.
other commentators have said bill clinton’s a controversial choice. no doubt with his heart condition, teamworld will have a tough time in the champions league next year. still he should be good for 15 minutes, plenty of time for a keen playmaker of his caliber to score.