ABSTRACT
The normative considerations, in conjunction with considerations of feasibility and practicality, will affect the extent to which any of us—the constituents of the world polity—commit our minds, bodies, and material assets to certain courses of action and attempt to convince others to make similar commitments. This interplay among value-driven individuals and groups will be one of the powerful determinants of the essential character of the world polity. Any framework for assessing world political structures and behavior in the world polity must include assumptions about what is good (or bad) for the world as a whole—particularly its human inhabitants. In addition to standard international political bargaining, the evolving world polity may well require considerable institution building—that is, the enhancement of the legitimacy and authority of judicial and parliamentary bodies with memberships that are congruent with and representative of the affected communities.
