World domination

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For other uses, see World Domination Recordings.

Though it is debatable if a planet as complex and diverse as Earth could ever be successfully "dominated" by a single central authority, the concept of world domination has long been a popular theme in both history and fiction. The quest for global domination is colloquially referred to as taking over the world and there are single individuals in both history (e.g. Alexander the Great) and fiction (e.g. Khan Noonien Singh, the villain from Star Trek: The Original Series episode number 22: "Space Seed") who have attempted to take over the world.

[edit] Ideologies advocating world domination

[edit] Religious ideologies advocating world domination

Many proselytising religions such as Islam and Christianity are universalist, viewing it as their task to convert as many people as possible to their religion, without restrictions on national or ethnic origin. This spiritual domination (see, for example, Kingdom of Heaven) is usually by most people seen to be distinct from a temporal domination, but certain fringe groupings within these religions have an established goal of global theocracy.

[edit] Political ideologies advocating world domination

Similarly, some devoted adherents of many different ideologies, such as anarchism, democracy, communism (especially Trotskyism), nazism, neoconservatism, social democracy, liberalism or libertarianism view their credo as the ideal form of societal organisation, and actively encourage its implementation throughout the world. The period of the Cold War in particular was seen as a period of intense ideological polarization across the globe, with supporters of the two rival camps expressing hope that their ideology would emerge triumphant over the other and become the pre-eminent form of government worldwide. Elements within the allied blocs led by the Soviet Union and the United States accused each other of having objectives of global domination.

After the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union's collapse, Francis Fukuyama in The End of History predicted that liberal democracy would become the favoured form of government throughout the earth. This period was called by some the new world order.

[edit] Secret Societies

Throughout history there have been many secret shadow societies and brotherhoods dedicated — at least in literature and apocryphy — to taking over the world or are supposed to have already done so (Incl: The Illuminati, the Templars, etc...).

[edit] Arnold Toynbee's concept of a universal state

Before modern times, the reach of political control and military force was limited by rudimentary transportation technologies and knowledge of geography. The Roman Empire had goals of global domination, and indeed the empire was able to conquer most of the "known world" (i.e., the Mediterranean) throughout its long history. The Qin and Han dynasties as well as the Tang of China were also successful in conquering the known world of Chinese civilization. Historian Arnold Toynbee used the term Universal State to refer to an empire like the Roman Empire or Chinese Empire that conquered the entire world known to a particular civilization. ^[1]

[edit] Examples of universal states

[edit] Persian Empire

The Faravahar, symbol of the Achaemenid Empire and of the Zoroastrian religion:

The Persian Empire was the worlds first great empire. At its height in 525 BC under Cyrus II the Great, it was Earth's first sole superpower.

[edit] Macedonian Empire

The Vergina Sun, symbol of the Macedonian Empire:

The Macedonian Empire was formed as a result of Alexander the Great's ambition to conquer and rule the world, and at his death in 323 BC it encompassed most of the world that was known to the ancient Greeks.

[edit] Mauryan Empire

The symbol of the Mauryan Empire: The Ashoka Chakra

Ashoka the Great, after defeating the Kingdom of Kalinga in the Kalinga War, renounced violence, and at the height of his empire in 250 BC adopted Buddhism. He became a person is sometimes regarded as the most enlightened ruler ever and envisioned a world governed by the compassionate eightfold path of Buddhism, sending out missionaries from Ancient India to as far as Ancient Rome and Egypt.

[edit] Roman Empire

Vexilloid of the Roman Empire: [3]

As noted above, the Roman Empire at its height in under the emperor Trajan in 117 AD had conquered the entire area of the Greco-Roman civilization.

[edit] Arab Caliphate

Various dynasties of the Arab Caliphate used various flags colored solid green, red, white, or black. These four colors together are today known as the Arab Colors.

The Arab Caliphate, which reached its maximum extent in the 8th Century, had as its express goal the conquest of the world for and by Islam. The greatest Caliph is generally considered to be Haroun al-Rashid.

[edit] Mongol Empire

Flags of the Mongol Empire: [4]

The Mongol Empire (Mongolian: Их Монгол Улс, meaning "Greater Mongol Nation"; 1206–1405) was the largest contiguous land empire in history, covering over 33 million km² ^[2] (12 million square miles) at its peak, with an estimated population of over 100 million people. This was one-third of the population of Earth, thus making the Mongol Empire the sole superpower of its day. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, and at its height in 1294 under Kublai Khan, it encompassed the majority of the territories from East Asia to Central Europe. The Mongol Empire was the first empire to have religious freedom and the first to use paper money.

[edit] Ming Empire

Flag of the Chinese Empire:

In the 15th Century, the Ming Empire of China was the dominant world power--Earth's sole superpower--and the Yongle Emperor sent out beginning in 1405 under the command of the admiral and explorer Zheng He vast fleets of ships to explore and trade with Southeast Asia, India, Arabia, and Africa. The expeditions continued until 1433. Had China not abandoned its huge naval/maritime program in the mid 14th century, it is possible China rather than the European powers would have dominated the world in the 16th century.

[edit] Other important empires

[edit] Spanish Empire

Flag of the Spanish Empire:

The nations closest to world domination in territorial terms were both the Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal when they were merged in 1580 (They separated in 1640) during the reign of Philip II. The Portuguese-Spanish Empire covered almost all South and Central America, as well as a large area of southern North America, almost all African maritime territories and other important regions such as the Philippines, the Netherlands (independent in 1588), and a significant portion of the Italian peninsula.

[edit] French Empire

Flag of the French Empire:

French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte had sights on global domination, and is often thought of as being the quintessential global conqueror. Napoleon saw his task as the spreading of the ideals of the French revolution and of the Age of Enlightenment throughout the world.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] British Empire

Flag of the British Empire:

The British Empire came closest to achieving global domination, at least in demographic and geographical terms. By the reign of Queen Victoria the British Empire had gained direct political control of about two fifths of the world's population and about one quarter of its land area, and hegemony over nominally independent areas such as parts of China and South America. British imperialist advocate Cecil Rhodes proposed that the United States and the British Empire jointly establish a world government and make English the official world language. The British Empire is generally considered to have arisen as a result of Britain's trade objectives rather than an attempt to establish military dominion, however, and was dismantled after World War II without substantial bloodshed.

[edit] Soviet Union

Flag of the Soviet Union:

An early Soviet poster: "Long Live World October [revolution]! The workers conquered power in Russia and will conquer the entire world"

Since the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks envisioned their regime as the first step to Communism dominating the world. The Comintern was established in 1919 in order to encourage Communist parties across the world and promote international proletarian revolution, although Stalin seemed more interested in consolidating Communist control in the Soviet Union rather than promoting worldwide revolution.

[edit] Japanese Empire

Flag of Imperial Japan: .

Beginning in 1931 with the invasion of Manchuria, the Japanese Empire then launched an aggressive war of conquest against China and Southeast Asia culminating, under the leadership of Hideki Tojo, in the attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor and the establishment of the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere before the Empire's final defeat by the Allies in World War II in 1945.

[edit] Nazi Germany

Flag of Nazi Germany: .

In World War II, the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler, the Third Reich, established what they called the New Order and had ambitious plans for directly controlling all of Europe, and then obtaining a position of power that would make them a formidable superpower in global politics. In Hitler's Second Book: The Unpublished Sequel to Mein Kampf, written in 1928, Hitler envisioned an apocalyptic air war of conquest against the United States by his successor in 1980, conducted by a great fleet of German long range bombers. At the time of the initial invasion of Russia (Operation Barbarossa) in June 1941, Hitler had expected to win victory in World War II by 1945, and he then planned, after completing the construction of the Welthauptstadt Germania plan of Albert Speer for Berlin, to hold a great World's Fair in Berlin in 1950 and then retire to his hometown of Linz^[3] . Hitler's decision to declare war early on the United States in December 1941 and his defeat in Russia beginning at Stalingrad in January 1943 sealed his doom. One of the slogans chanted by the Hitler Youth was Today Germany, Tomorrow the World!

[edit] American Empire

Flag of the "American Empire," displayed at its many military bases all over the world:

Although the United States of America is a republic, it is regarded by many as an economic empire and some people refer to it figuratively as The American Empire to emphasize the great power and influence of the United States in the world both economically with its extensive business investments around the world and militarily with its extensive system of alliances to defend those investments as well as to defend freedom ^[4] and democracy. When The American Empire is spoken of, it is meant in a metaphorical, not a literal sense. ^[5] ^[6]

Many consider the initial establishment of the American Empire to have taken place on 12 July 1947 with the signing of the National Security Act of 1947 by President Harry S Truman. ^[7]Truman then organized first the Rio Pact on 2 September 1947, then NATO on 4 April 1949, and finally ANZUS on 1 September 1951, thus uniting all the nations of Western Civilization into a single Western Alliance to implement the policy of containment in order to prevent the possibility of Soviet world domination. ^[8] A primary goal of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, was to create a Pax Americana in the American sphere of influence. In his final speech in 1960 before leaving office, Eisenhower warned against allowing the military-industrial complex to gain too much power.

In the aftermath of the Cold War, critics of American foreign policy have argued that the United States seeks, or indeed actually has, global hegemony. On September 11, 1990, the President of the United States, George H.W. Bush gave his famous speech, Toward a New World Order[5][6] to a joint session of the United States Congress. On September 20, 2002, the George W. Bush White House posted on its website the full text of the (at that time) newest National Security Strategy of the United States, composed primarily by prominent neo-conservative Paul Wolfowitz. In this document, the Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war is outlined: For introductory preface, dated September 17, 2002, see [7]; for actual complete document, the 2002 National Security Strategy of the United States of America dated September 20, 2002, see [8]. The Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive war was implemented on March 20, 2003 with the launching by the United States of the Iraq War.

In February 2004, Charles Krauthammer said Americans have "acquired the largest-seeming empire in the world...we have global dominion...this is a...new development in history...even Rome is no model for what America is today". ^[9] Today, the United States is often called Earth's sole superpower.

The economic system of the "American Empire" is generally called neoliberalism, which some critics describe as a domination of the economy by multinational corporations but with free competition among them so that new corporations with new inventions and technology that are more efficient can replace older less efficient corporations.

[edit] Possible future means of world domination

[edit] People's Republic of China

Flag of the People's Republic of China:

The Chinese economy is growing at a rate of about 8% per year. China is predicted to surpass the United States as the world's largest economy by 2020 (of course it will still not be as wealthy as the United States because there are four times as many people in China). The Chinese space program intends to execute a manned landing on Luna by 2025. Vast new construction projects, expressways and skyscrapers, are being built all over China--so much building material is being used that the price of construction materials (steel and concrete) has doubled worldwide in the period 2002 to 2007. Chinese business executives are signing contracts for resource extraction on all continents. China is vastly expanding its nuclear power program. ^[10] With this vast expansion of China's economic power, it's military expenditures are steadily growing. The People's Republic of China has stated it intends to take back Taiwan under Chinese rule at latest by 2020 and has notified Taiwan regarding this deadline. China is building a blue-water navy--the People's Liberation Army Navy--to enforce its demands on Taiwan. Thus it appears that it is possible that by 2030 China and the United States could be co-equal superpowers and, since all empires rise and fall, perhaps it is even possible that by 2050 China could pull ahead of the West of and become the dominant superpower worldwide as it was during the Ming dynasty. ^[11] ^[12]

[edit] Western Imperium

Some Neo-Nazis advocate the establishment of an autocratic state to be called the Western Imperium after what they call the Zionist Occupation Government of the neoconservatives is overthrown. This proposed autocratic state would be led by a Führer-like figure and include all areas inhabited by the "Aryan race" (defined as non-Jews of European ancestry) i.e. Europe, Russia, Anglo-America, Australia and New Zealand, and southern South America. This concept is based on a 1947 book called Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics by Francis Parker Yockey.^[13] It is envisioned that combining the nuclear weapons of the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France into a single force would give the Western Imperium an overwhelming military advantage, giving it world domination.

It is usually envisioned that the flag of the "Western Imperium" would be like the red Nazi flag, except within the white disc would be a black-colored nationalistic stylized Celtic cross rather than a black swastika: [9]. Some Neo-Nazi groups, however, such as the Libertarian National Socialist Green Party envisage using a green instead of a red flag for the "Western Imperium" to express Neo-Nazi concern about preserving the environment [10].

[edit] Anarchist world confederation

Ironically, some calls to unite anti-globalization movements around the globe may be also seen as utopian attempts by anarchists to take over the world from multinational corporations. Anarchists, green anarchists, Greens and Libertarians envision an anarchist world confederation, i.e., the abolition of all presently existing nations and the institution of a worldwide system of about 1,000 locally autonomous province sized local regions or bioregions that are largely self-sufficient and engage in mutually beneficial free trade for needed commodities not produced locally; however, no region would dominate any other region, and although there would be no central authority such as a world parliament, presumably the regions would consult with each other on matters of mutual interest. Some believe it might be necessary to have a small cooperatively managed green world police force like the United Nations peacekeeping forces in order to prevent the possibility of a warlord arising in one of the regions and attempting to dominate other regions (it is presumed that by the time the confederation is set up, there will have been total nuclear disarmament).

Many anarchist, Green, and Libertarain political theorists (such as green anarchist John Zerzan [11]) maintain that an anarchist world confederation is inevitable because after Peak Oil (expected to occur before 2010), there will not be adequate natural resources for any group to achieve world domination. [12]

The economic system of an anarchist world confederation ^[14] is usually envisioned by anarchists and green anarchists as being anarcho-syndicalism, i.e., a system in which all businesses are owned by the workers, and cooperatively managed by the workers themselves; thus, under this system, there are no bosses. ^[15] Libertarians advocate an economic system of laissez-faire capitalism for the confederation. Greens advocate a "mixed economy" with both systems co-existing. [13]

Most anarchists, green anarchists, and Greens think of the flag of the future anarchist world confederation as being the Earth flag (also called the Gaia flag). This flag has been carried at many anti-globalization demonstrations: .

[edit] World Federation

The World Federalist Movement advocates the establishment of a democratic World Federation by mutual agreement of the nations of the United Nations. This World Federation is usually envisioned as being governed by a World Parliament that would meet at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland which would consist of about 1,000 members elected by district, and a World Supreme Court which would meet at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands. ^[16] The executive branch of the World Federalist government would be administered by the head of government, the Prime Minister of the World Parliament; no major World Federalist group has as yet proposed that there be elected also a President of Earth to be the head of state of a United Earth.

It is generally supposed that the flag of the United Earth will continue to be the United Nations flag: .

[edit] Global domination in popular culture

Board Games

The popular board game Risk is often labelled as the "world domination game" or the "game of global conquest".
The board game Summit was a popular game among board game players of the 1960s and 1970s that allowed one to strive for world domination.

Computers

Linus Torvalds, developer of Linux, has also described his goals as "world domination, fast." Because of the ubiquity of Microsoft products in the computing world, company founder Bill Gates has been parodied as seeking world domination.

Film

World domination is often perceived to be the most common plot line in the James Bond movie series. However, in actuality, the villain is much more likely to demand ransom money than seek global hegemony, something that has happened only three times. *In Dr. No, the famous spy is already weary of foes who seek to dominate the globe and calls it "the same old dream".

Music

World Domination was the name of a 1986 single by the dance music group the Belle Stars that reached #5 on the U.S. hit parade.
World domination is a slang term used in the music industry. If a rock group, solo artist, or DJ has attained a successful career that includes hit singles, gold record or platinum record level CD sales, and going on world tours, they are referred to as having achieved "world domination". Examples of musical artists who have achieved world domination include Elvis Presley, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson (in the 1980s), U2, and Paul Oakenfold.
There is a German band called The World Domination or TWD.

Science Fiction

Global domination is frequently used in some science fiction stories (e.g., Star Trek) as a desirable, praiseworthy, and inevitable step in the progress of human civilization (though in this case it is achieved by co-operation, not conquest). Others treat it as the sinister ambition of the story's villain. This in turn is often a source of parody, frequently in cartoons such as Pinky and the Brain in which a super-intelligent lab mouse and his dim-witted cohort pursue elaborate schemes to take over the world that inevitably end in failure. The cartoon's famous catchphrase is: "Gee, Brain, what do you want to do tonight?" "Same thing we do every night, Pinky: Try to take over the world!"

Television

In the television series, Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, the character of Rita Repulsa repeatedly tries to conquer Earth, using a wide variety of monsters.
Stewie Griffin from the cartoon "Family Guy" has fanciful dreams of taking over the world.

Video Games and Computer Games

A great many video games, often in the strategy genre, have a goal of global domination - for example, Global Domination, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, the Civilization series, Rise of Nations, the SuperPower series of games and, to a lesser extent, the Command & Conquer series. In addition, games such as Day of the Tentacle and Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders feature plots of foiling attempts of global domination.
Evil Genius A game developed by Sierra Entertainment in which the player must buy an island and play the role of an evil genius, who has plans (through crime) to take over the world.
In the Pokémon series of video games & the long running anime, Team Rocket & other organizations attempt to take over the world, but have never succeeded in their dreams of world conquest.

[edit] References

^ Toynbee, Arnold A Study of History--Volume XII: Reconsiderations London:1961--Oxford University Press Pages 308-313 "Universal States".
^ http://www.hostkingdom.net/earthrul.html
^ Speer, Albert Inside the Third Reich New York:1970--Macmillan P.139
^ Zakaria, Fareed The Future of Freedom:Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad New York:2003--W.W. Norton
^ Bacevich, Andrew J. (Professor of International Relations, Boston University) American Empire: The Realities and Consequences of U.S. Diplomcy Cambridge, Massachusetts:2002--Harvard University Press
^ Smith, Michael K. The Greatest Story Never Told: A People's History of the American Empire 1945-19992001--XLibris Corporation [1]
^ Vidal, Gore The Decline and Fall of the American Empire Berkeley, California:1992--Odonian Press Page 28
^ Acheson, Dean Present at the Creation: My Years in the State Department New York:1987--W.W. Norton
^ Buchanan, Patrick J. Where the Right Went Wrong: How Neo-Conservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and Hijacked the Bush Presidency New York:2004--St. Martin's Press (Thomas Dunne Books) Page 57
^ [2]--The current expansion of nuclear power in China is detailed in this February 2007 report Nuclear Power in China
^ Timperlake, Edward and Triplett, William C. II Red Dragon Rising: Communist China's Military Threat to America Washington, D.C.:1999--Regnery Publishing
^ Gertz, Bill The China Threat: How the People's Republic Targets America Washington D.C.:2000--Regnery Publishing
^ See Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism, and The Politics of Identity New York: 2002--N.Y. University Press-- Chapters 4 and 11 for information about the proposed Western Imperium
^ In the Underground comic Anarchy Comics #3 (July 1981), there is a science fiction story by Jay Kinney in which a late 1970s punk rocker time travels to the year 5000, at which time Earth is organized as an anarchist world confederation.
^ Albert, Michael Moving Forward: Program for a Participatory Economy San Francisco:2000--AK Press
^ Tetalman, Jerry and Belitsos, Byron One World Democracy: A Progressive Vision for Enforceable Global Law San Rafael, California:2005--Origin Press

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