One of the greatest differences I find when teaching ancient political philosophy is dealing with the relative lack of interest on the part of most classical philosophers (certainly Plato and Aristotle) of any institutions above the small, city state.
In part due to the Christian sense that all human beings (of whatever nationality) matter equally, and to the intertwining of Christianity with universal institutions such as the Papacy and the (Roman) Empire, this local focus has been replaced by awareness of an international dimension to human affairs. But how is this principle to be applied and institutionalized? Should there be some sort of world government? Is globalization a trend to be resisted or welcomed?
Compendium, 441 [link here]
Concern for an ordered and peaceful coexistence within the human family prompts the Magisterium to insist on the need to establish “some universal public authority acknowledged as such by all and endowed with effective power to safeguard, on the behalf of all, security, regard for justice, and respect for rights”. In the course of history, despite the changing viewpoints of the different eras, there has been a constant awareness of the need for a similar authority to respond to worldwide problems arising from the quest for the common good: it is essential that such an authority arise from mutual agreement and that it not be imposed, nor must it be understood as a kind of “global super-State”.
Political authority exercised at the level of the international community must be regulated by law, ordered to the common good and respectful of the principle of subsidiarity. “The public authority of the world community is not intended to limit the sphere of action of the public authority of the individual political community, much less to take its place. On the contrary, its purpose is to create, on a world basis, an environment in which the public authorities of each political community, their citizens and intermediate associations can carry out their tasks, fulfil their duties and exercise their rights with greater security”.
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