One of the most tiresome arguments in international affairs is the “realist” case against world federal government. It has been permitted to prevail for much too long.

For decades “political realists” have asserted that nationalism is too stong and stubborn a force for a world rule of law to be established. They have been all too persuasive—but have contributed thereby to their own self-fulfilling prophecies. “Realists” have typically voiced boredom and condescension toward federalists and have indulged in raw caricatures of the federalist case. The plausibility of such caricatures has been abetted by the fact that too many of the most visible (and audible!) federalists have been senior citizens whose fervent idioms suggest a dreamy one-worldism of an earlier era. It is time to renew and restate the case for world federal government.