Useless Nations

Bernd Untiedt, Germany

It Doesn't Work

Perhaps my title is a bit harsh, but face it... the UN is broken and most likely irreparable.  This is clearly illustrated by the events in Syria, not by failure to act against Assad, but by failure to act in any meaningful way at all.

1. The Security Council will never function effectively as long as the five permanent members have the veto power to protect themselves and their client states.

2. The veto power of the five permanent members cannot be rescinded as the non-permanent members cannot be relied upon to act in a rational manner or in the global interest. 

The UN is NOT a Democracy, the General Assembly is a Joke

Of the 193 member states, roughly 40 are dictatorships or totalitarian regimes, fully 1.9 billion people live under despotism.  Face it, in the world body politic Zimbabwe does not deserve equal footing with Belgium or Myanmar with Japan.  While global participation is an admirable goal, the criteria for entry needs to be more than simply being on the planet.  You can be sure that Chitsaka Chipaziwa is Robert Mugabe's personal representative to the UN, not the representative of the Zimbabwean people.

League of Nations Epic Fail

It would seem that the only difference between the League of Nations and the UN is six fewer vetoes.  The composition of the Security Council is a relic of World War II with the US, UK, France, Russia, and China wielding veto power while states such as Germany and Japan are awarded equal status with North Korea and Syria.  The top five contributors to the UN are the US, Japan, Germany, France, and the UK, and while China is sixth, Russia with veto power doesn't even make the top 10 lagging behind Italy, Canada, Spain, and Brazil.
  

Alternatives?

I am not an advocate of one-world government,  and would have to say that any alternative would have to maintain national sovereignty within its framework, although I am willing to listen to and rebut arguments to the contrary.  While a one world democratic government is a noble aspiration, the conditions for its execution do not currently exist.  It would fail for the same reasons the UN fails.