QuoraED! This is when we pick up a trending or interesting thread from Quora and spin a story around it.
In this week’s rummage through the popular site that acts like a respite for the pseudo-intellectuals of our generation, led me to the discovery of the following question:
“Would it work if all humans renounced their ethnicity and nationalism, removed all borders, kept religion as a private matter, and agreed upon a one world language, and unite humanity for the good of all, and dismiss all armies, and dismiss ‘states’?”
Interesting question, to the say the least. Something, I’m sure all of us have thought about at some point in our lives. Let’s take a look at the responses, shall we?
- History Can Be An Excellent Teacher, If We Choose To Listen To Her
This user provided proper real-life examples where such an attempt had been made and which have all subsequently failed at some point in time.
For example, the universal language, Esperanto (which is still spoken by around two million people worldwide), which was devised by a Polish-Jewish ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof through his book, Unua Libro.
According to this article on The Verge, he believed that the languages people already spoke were over-saturated with history, politics, and power, making it impossible to communicate clearly. Esperanto was a fresh start, a technology that would allow its speakers to sidestep the difficulties of natural languages altogether.
Certainly the logic behind such an attempt is appealing but not practical since people refuse to be ruled by “foreigners”. And even in the most peaceful of unions, there is an underlying resentment that’s deep enough to cause those countries to split.
The most recent example is obviously Brexit. The European Union was another such attempt which now, after the departure of Great Britain, is on the brink of collapsing.
ALSO READ: QuoraED: What Was It Like To Grow Up In India In The 90’s?
- Every Cloud Comes With A Silver Lining And A Little Bit Of Rain
Another user pointed out the obvious drawbacks to this utopian scenario.
Firstly, who will decide which language is to become the new ‘language of humanity’, in such a situation? There are several possible contenders, after all.
Secondly, would theocratic states be willing to keep church and state separate (an idea known in politics, and sociology as secularism) in this new world order?
Thirdly, would developed nations in Western Europe, North America, and elsewhere be willing to allow far-less-developed countries to, effectively, ‘merge’ with their own?
Conflict appears to be embedded in our genetic makeup and we do not need to look any further than our closest non-human relatives, chimpanzees, to see that conflict (of which war is the most extreme example), and aggression are traits that are hardly unique to our species (or, indeed, even our genus).
- Beware Of the Psychopaths That Walk The Earth
This person had a unique take on the issue, according to whom, this whole situation seems hardly plausible, due to the existence of psychopaths in every human population.
Psychopaths are superficially charming, glib, manipulative, are incapable of experiencing deep emotions such as compassion or empathy, are not restrained by ethics or morality, do not believe the rules and laws of society apply to them, don’t care about consequences, view other people as objects to be manipulated, and are hyper sensitive to rewards.
If you ever wonder why the world is the way it is, it’s because of the power games played by a handful of psychopathic people. Racism, ethnicism, elitism, nationalism and religionism are encouraged by Psychopaths in control of the world’s richest corporations, to maintain a divided human race.
As long as these people continue to roam the Earth, this “paradise” will always remain out of reach.
- Cuckoo’s Calling
And just when I thought that maybe Quora had finally redeemed itself, I read the following response:
“That’s actually going to happen one day. Bible prophecy tells us that one day there will be a new world order. A one world government with one leader and one currency. This leader is going to be an Antichrist.
The thing is, that currency is not going to be…paper money and coins. It’s going to be by receiving the mark that the one world government leader is going to impose on all citizens. Without this mark you won’t be able to buy or sell. If you refuse it, you will become an enemy of the state and will be persecuted… It may sound crazy to many of you, but it’s going to happen. Its not a conspiracy theory…”
Know any interesting queries you have chanced upon on Quora? Share them with us!
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