HuffPost Post

This was in response to a posting by Stephen Schlesinger, "Why the Democracy League Won't Work," and a comment supporting his general thesis, that a league of democracies isn't feasible as a stand-alone organization, apart from the United Nations.

Schlesinger is right, and your post is closest to the way I feel. We of the US tend to dismiss the point of view of nations like Russia and China because they do not cooperate with our intention to bend the world organization to our view.

Still, the UN has serious flaws. Most of them relate to the fact that we designed it to meet our needs in the immediate post-WWII international environment. That era has long gone, but the only significant changes that have occurred are the replacement of the Nationalist Chinese with the Communists, and the expansion of the General Assembly to where it includes every sovereign nation (the latter a very significant accomplishment).

It is time for fundamental reform of the UN Charter. The Security Council should be expanded to about 10 permanent members and 7-9 regional representatives; all representatives would have a veto, but only on resolutions directly addressed to their country or region. The General Assembly would be one house of a bicameral body which legislates and budgets the organization (the other house having direct election, using proportional representation from regional election zones that do not kowtow excessively to national borders).

If we get that done, while we may not have created a UN which can secure and enforce the peace, we will have created a suitable framework for future generations to use. Progress is slow, but the really difficult but important stuff doesn't get done unless we make an effort.