Troughout the world, more and more men and women, and among them some eminent people, declare nowadays that they are World Citizens. They all earnestly desire to safeguard threatened life, and feel the necessity of organizing a peaceful world which will respect the individuals, the Peoples and the balance of Nature.

THE DANGERS WHICH THREATEN HUMANKIND

The multiple world imbalances have become more visible since the end of the notorious "balance of terror".

The spreading of weapons of mass destruction (atomic, biological and chemical) increases everyday the risk of a fatal error, of an accident or an act of madness.

The poverty suffered by the majority, and the disgrace of so many starving while minorities enjoy affluence; the pollutions, the waste of non-renewable resources; demographic explosion and the multiplication of acts of violence, of wars, and of collapse of communities...

...Here are the real problems of today, which lie beyond the competence of "sovereign" States, so that they have to be solved at the planetary level.

 THE ILLUSION OF TREATIES BETWEEN NATIONS : U.N.

Why has this institution, wich gave rise to such great hopes, proved itself to be incapable of resolving the vast majority of international problems ? Why, in particular, has it been powerless to prevent war ? The reason is that at the U.N. forum the representatives of governments each defend the interests of their own country, and no-one defends the interests of humanity.

Under these conditions its decisions remain unheeded : each nation allows itself to disregard them in the name of its absolute sovereignty.

 THE NECESSITY TO DELEGATE PART OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

The role of defending the interests of their nation, which is that of governments, disqualifies them from solving the problmes which involve the interests of the whole of humanity.

Before it is too late, partial delegation of national sovereignty in favour of world institution shoul be accepted by all countries. Already the circumstances resulting from the common exploitation of ploanetary space have led so some de facto de legation of power in particular for the benefit of the International Telecommunication Union and the World Meteorological Organization.

 WHICH WORLD INSTITUTIONS ?

While we are waiting for a federal democratic world organization to be developed, we need institutions which

• substitute world law and arbitation for the balance of power in dealings between nations ;
• have real and well-defined powers in order to be able to execute their decisions ;
• are controlled by representatives of peoples who are democratically elected in transnational elections, indepedent of their national adherence.

  DOES THIS MEAN OPENING THE WAY TO A TOTALITARIAN WORLD GOVERNMENT ?

  Is there not a risk of a central power being formed which would tend to crush peoples into a sigle mould and suffocate them under the weignt of its bureaucracy and laws ? World Citizens do no desire such a from of government : the role of a federal world power cill not be to impose a common policy on all nations, but solely to arbitrate in conflicts between naitonal interests and those of humanity, in such a way that each people will be free to choose its type of society, on the basis of the respect of human dignity, freedom and democracy.

   ARE THESE UTOPIAN VIEWS ?

  All of humanity's great conquests have passed through the stage of creative utopia : this was the case with the mastering of air and interplanetary space, telecommunications, the automatization of production and gentics. Leonardo da Vinci, Jules Verne and Aldous Huxley were utopians whose visions have, for the most part, been realized.

  The outline of World Institution is already sketched out. In this case the realization is not a matter of technological progress, but depends on the common will of a sufficient number of inhabitants of this planet. The last chance for Man is that these visions are realized before Mankind is destroyed.

  What is utopian is not to be mundialist.

   A COMMON OBJECTIVE DISTINCT FROM THE POLITICAL OR PHILOSOPHICAL CONVICTIONS OF INDIVIDUALS .

  Not all World Citzens share the same political or philosophical convictions, nor the same ideas about the best way to establish World Institutions. They have in common the respect for the ideas oh others and a feeling of solidarity which links them to all human beings. World Citizen's registrationb is the fundamental act by which the individual recognizes that the time has come to organize the world on a planetary scale, and undertakes to work for the creation of these new relations between peoples.

   ASSUME YOUR RESPONSABILITIES .

  Mundialist arguments do not leave you indifferent. In fact, you would rather support mundialism. But you think : "Is it worth while ? What can I do at my level to change the course of events ?". You question your friends and find a lot of people who think the same way. All other the world there are mundialists at heart, who are paralysed in their action by their fatalism and the feeling of their powerlessness to force destiny. This is where they are wrong. Once they have registered as WORLD CITIZENS, they will come out of their loneliness and will become conscious of the force they represent ; of the weight their votes could have on the elected people and those who govern. They will have the means to communicate whith they belong to. They will be informed of every step taken towards their goal, of every important rally, of every opportunity to participate in common mundialist action (*). This is why you should assume your responsabilities : AS FROM TO-DAY, towards your family, your fellow-human beings and towards posterity, by applying for your WORLD CITIZENS' CARD.

  (*) Mundialism gathers all the ideas and actions expressing the solidarity of populations of the globe and aiming to establish common institutions, in the respect of peoples' diversity and of their culture.