Poll of the Day > If Earth became one nation, where should the capital be?

(+) Yeah! (+)

If the earth tried to become one nation, fighting over where the capital should be would fragment it again.

adjl posted...

If the earth tried to become one nation, fighting over where the capital should be would fragment it again.

True, but maybe there would be a vote?

The capital would be in space or on the moon

Azn_Psycho posted...

The capital would be in space or on the moon

That could also be a possibility that I forgot to mention....

Geneva would be pretty ok

My pants, The Earth.

PikachuMaxwell posted...

True, but maybe there would be a vote?

then it comes down to india vs. china, because they have tons more citizens than other nations

Plus a vote still only has as much power as anyone can enforce the vote with. If somebody doesn't like the outcome of the vote, they can just not accept it and fight anyone who disagrees. Unless you had a massive enough consensus to overwhelm dissenters with the associated military power, you'd still end up with people fighting over it.

In practice, I don't know that there even needs to be a capital. In the modern age, government doesn't have to be physically in the same place to govern. There'd be some squabbling over which time zone would be used to schedule meetings, since officials far away from that time zone would need to work nights, but otherwise everyone could just work from home and there's no need to establish a single city to be the heart of the world government.

Ah, you guys make good points about the vote and if there's even a need for a capital.

The geographic center for the Earth's population would be in southern/eastern Asia, so the capital should be around there.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/more-than-half-the-worlds-population-lives-inside-this-circle

Basically pick any major city inside that circle.
Don't know why the fuck Asia wasn't even an option when over half the world's population lives there.
"Other" when you had like 4 other spots for poll options, lol

I don't think TC knows there are seven continents.

I'm changing my vote to Antarctica.

Either North America, where I assume the uniting power would be (I'm assuming this is just America but worldwide)

Or Europe since they are the most historic

Africa because it's the human point of origin. A fairly neutral choice.

Probably Cairo, it is basically where recorded history started.

The North Pole

Space.

The true neutral zone.

adjl posted...

There'd be some squabbling over which time zone would be used to schedule meetings, since officials far away from that time zone would need to work nights, but otherwise everyone could just work from home and there's no need to establish a single city to be the heart of the world government.

What if it were two capital cities for Earth instead of one? They could be antipodal so the time zones wouldn't be an issue.

Asia. That's where more than half the population is.

Between China and India alone, that's like 40%. When all the other nations are factored in, it's closer to 60%.

For full fairness, Earth capitol should be somewhere between the two. Let's build it in the Himalayas. We can just tunnel under all the mountains and build a massive underground city complex. For full shits and giggles, we can call it Agartha.



Alternative options - build a massive base on the moon that is technically the possession of all nations and no nation simultaneously. Or somewhere in Antarctica. Or as a massive oil-rig style sea platform in the Pacific Ocean as an autonomous entity.

Most of those options are physically infeasible (we don't have the technology or materials to safely and effectively build in extreme conditions), but since the entire concept of humans ever actually agreeing to it under current social conditions, the whole thing is fantasy anyway, so might as well run with it.



adjl posted...

If the earth tried to become one nation, fighting over where the capital should be would fragment it again.

People complain about the UN being in New York all the time.

Ironically, a significant number of people complaining are actual New Yorkers who wish it would go somewhere else.

Atlantis

I have a feeling it'll end up being Switzerland.

the middle of antarctica

Africa because of Halo

Justin2Krelian posted...

I have a feeling it'll end up being Switzerland.

All that Nazi gold would pay for a lot of buildings.

speedpunk posted...

What if it were two capital cities for Earth instead of one? They could be antipodal so the time zones wouldn't be an issue.

The idea of having a capital city is to centralize government activities. Having more than one kind of defeats that purpose. You'd effectively have two separate governments that way, which is largely unnecessary for the highest level (and lower levels would already be regionally divided, not unlike the current arrangement of federal, state, and municipal governments).

Underground, near the core; where it's still warm

ForteEXE3850 posted...

Space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE_jAwOyrxU

Space station was my first thought.

Since we would no longer need aircraft carriers, we just dock all of them together as one giant floating capital city in the Pacific. Point Nemo maybe. The farthest point from any land. Pretty neutral without the expense of traveling to space.

adjl posted...

The idea of having a capital city is to centralize government activities. Having more than one kind of defeats that purpose. You'd effectively have two separate governments that way, which is largely unnecessary for the highest level (and lower levels would already be regionally divided, not unlike the current arrangement of federal, state, and municipal governments).

One at each pole. Each one rules over the world for 6 months. It switches every equinox. The capital is eternally bathed in sun.

It wouldnt be at a physical location, but an internet domain.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

One at each pole. Each one rules over the world for 6 months. It switches every equinox. The capital is eternally bathed in sun.

I'll give this idea style points, if nothing else.

Anywhere in Africa is not a good idea, too much of the continent is wilderness or just desolate. So if you're going to put in one of the modern cities, why not pick somewhere both more tolerable climate-wise and less remote?

The Middle East is an even worse idea. Placing your capital in the middle of an area which has been consumed by religious and sectarian violence for centuries is just asking for trouble.

I'd say somewhere like London or New York.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

Anywhere in Africa is not a good idea, too much of the continent is wilderness or just desolate. So if you're going to put in one of the modern cities, why not pick somewhere both more tolerable climate-wise and less remote?

The Middle East is an even worse idea. Placing your capital in the middle of an area which has been consumed by religious and sectarian violence for centuries is just asking for trouble.

I'd say somewhere like London or New York.

You do realize that most capital "cities" are basically towns of a few thousand people that happen to have a government building?

Dikitain posted...

You do realize that most capital "cities" are basically towns of a few thousand people that happen to have a government building?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_capitals_by_population

You have to go to #94 (Malawi) to even dip below 1 million.

DiScOrDtHeLuNaTiC posted...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_capitals_by_population

You have to go to #94 (Malawi) to even dip below 1 million.

239 - 94 is still most.

Dikitain posted...

239 - 94 is still most.

Fair, but it's also not until you get to #217 (Turks and Caicos Islands) that you could call the populations "a few thousand".

Dikitain posted...

239 - 94 is still most.

I'd say you have to get below 100k for "a few thousand" to be a reasonable way to represent the figure, and of the 66 countries whose capitals are sub-100k, 50 have more than 10% of their total population in the capital city. Capitals aren't necessarily the largest urban centres in their respective countries, certainly (that Wikipedia article links to another one specifically dedicated to countries whose capitals aren't their largest cities), but a large majority of them do have a significant number of people (if not by raw numbers, in proportion to the total population of the country).

adjl posted...

I'll give this idea style points, if nothing else.

I mean, I'm only going for style points here. I'm not overly worried about practicality because the whole idea is socio-politically impractical at the moment. So why not just have fun with it?

Speaking of which, how about a massive supertanker with a city built on its deck that just chugs around the ocean randomly? Then every once in a while your global capital comes chugging into sight off your coast, and you'd better be on your best behavior!



KJ_StErOiDs posted...

It wouldnt be at a physical location, but an internet domain.

It's a virtual city in the Metaverse.

And Zuckerberg never stops jerking off over it.

(Metaphorically, I mean. It would be really, really awkward if a giant avatar of Zuckerberg was literally just constantly jerking off over the city as a whole. Not that I'd put it past him).

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Speaking of which, how about a massive supertanker with a city built on its deck that just chugs around the ocean randomly? Then every once in a while your global capital comes chugging into sight off your coast, and you'd better be on your best behavior!

I'll see your supertanker, and raise you an airship.

adjl posted...

I'll see your supertanker, and raise you an airship.

Are we talking SHIELD helicarrier or like a giant blimp? Or like a massive platform help up by multiple balloons?

Or are we going all-in on something like Columbia from Bioshock?

I would also have the Earth's capital on the moon. Its founding would be celebrated every year with mochi and related ceremonies.

A space colony. We'll call it Principality of Zeon

As of now, either NYC (UN HQ) or Brussels (EU HQ). However, you could also make a good case for Washington DC, Moscow, or Beijing, given all three have an outsize influence on geopolitical affairs.

Other than MAYBE a major European city, I'm not sure there's a compelling case for any other location.

adjl posted...

If the earth tried to become one nation, fighting over where the capital should be would fragment it again.

PO, is that you?! Why'd you climb into adjl's body? And is it roomy in there?

streamofthesky posted...

The geographic center for the Earth's population would be in southern/eastern Asia, so the capital should be around there.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/more-than-half-the-worlds-population-lives-inside-this-circle

Basically pick any major city inside that circle.
Don't know why the fuck Asia wasn't even an option when over half the world's population lives there.
"Other" when you had like 4 other spots for poll options, lol

tbh, I also scratched my head when I saw Asia wasn't listed, considering the influence of Russia and China.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Ironically, a significant number of people complaining are actual New Yorkers who wish it would go somewhere else.

Yeah, but most New Yorkers wish that most New Yorkers would go somewhere else, too... like Jersey.

GanonsSpirit posted...

Atlantis

That would be the most awesome choice.

Wait...

Why not Istanbul?

on the moon

In Uranus

Lokarin posted...

Wait...

Why not Istanbul?

Only if we change it back to Constantinople first

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Are we talking SHIELD helicarrier or like a giant blimp? Or like a massive platform help up by multiple balloons?

Or are we going all-in on something like Columbia from Bioshock?

I'm thinking balloon platform. A giant blimp would be too small, and the helicarrier idea is too energy-intensive.