World
 |
The World |
World is primarily referring to planet
Earth, especially when capitalized
the World. Unlike the term "earth", "world" (like the term
international and the adjective of
globe,
global) is used in combination with the core topics describing our world society or
world community.
In
English,
world is rooted in a compound of the obsolete words
were, man, and
eld, age; thus, its oldest meaning is "age or life of man".
The history of the world is a reference to
human history, which is thought to begin 3
Mya, when the first humans are thought to have appeared.
Writing developed about 8,600 years ago, in
four independent locations, and marked the end of
pre-history.
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Hierarchy of a world government in relation to national, provincial/state and municipal/regional government |
World government is the concept of a
government that would legislate, enforce and interpret international law, on a level above that of
national government. While there are no governments that have such power yet, the
United Nations and the
International Criminal Court are often seen as steps toward a world government. The Concept of a world government goes back to at least the
Greek and
Roman times, as a method to preserve
peace.
International law is defined as law that regulates the activities of entities possessing international personality; this is usually taken to mean the interactions between
nations, however has recently expanded to include the actions of
international organizations and
multinational corporations. The principle regulator of modern international law is the
International Court of Justice.
One could consider that there exist two major relations between nations: War and peace.
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August 9, 1945, the second atomic bomb to be used as a weapon, after the one dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. |
War is a conflict involving the organized use of
weapons and physical force by
states or other large-scale groups. Warring parties usually hold
territory, which they can win or lose; and each has a leading person or organization, which can surrender, or collapse, thus ending the war. Until the end of
World War II, participants usually issued formal
declarations of war.War seems as old as
human society, and certainly features prominently in the recorded histories of state-cultures. In
tribal societies engaging in
endemic warfare, it is typical for the tribes armed force to consist entirely or mostly of
militia or a
warrior caste. The earliest
city states and empires in
Mesopotamia became the first to employ
standing armies. Organization and structure has since been central to warfare, as illustrated by the success of highly disciplined troops of the
Roman Empire.
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An often recurring symbol of peace is a dove carrying an olive branch. |
An opposite to war is peace. A simple and narrow definition of peace entails the absence of
war. (The
ancient Romans defined peace,
Pax, as
Absentia Belli, the
absence of war.)
The maintenance of longstanding peace between
nations ranks among the few great successes of the
United Nations. Peace can be voluntary, where potential agitators choose to abstain from disturbance, or it can be enforced, by suppressing those who might otherwise cause such disturbance. Since 1945, the world has only been 26 days without war.
International relations (IR), a branch of
political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the
international system, including the roles of
states,
inter-governmental organizations (IGOs),
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and
multinational corporations (MNCs). It is both an
academic and
public policy field, and can be either
positive or
normative as it both seeks to analyze as well as formulate foreign policy.
The climate of the world is highly varied; temperatures range from -88°C to 58°C. There are
nine different divisions of climate that exist on Earth, allowing for amazing biodiversity. It has also been theorized that different cultures have developed as a result of varying climate.Geography is also highly varied; there are many different types of
landforms, that range in elevation from
8,848m above
sea level to
10,900m below sea level.
World maps of the surface of the Earth are made to visualize the climatological and geographical features of the earth.
In recent years, larger corporations have begun to
globalize. This movement has been a source of debate as there are those who oppose this.
The population of the world is estimated to have reached 6.5 billion, as of
25 February,
2006. The following chart shows predictions of its growth until
2050.
| Year | Population (billions) | | 2006 | 6.5 |
| 2010 | 6.8 |
| 2020 | 7.6 |
| 2030 | 8.2 |
| 2040 | 8.7 |
| 2050 | 8.9 |
Many predict that if population growth, at this rate continues, there will be a
Malthusian catastrophe.
While there are no official world languages,
English has (according to many) become the most common
lingua franca, superceding
French as the most common diplomatic language, and spreading via
electronic media.
English,
French,
Spanish,
Arabic,
Chinese, and
Russian are the United Nations' official languages, and all could be considered world languages, although with the demise of the USSR, use of Russian has greatly declined and its status as a world language is doubtful.
The word
civilization (or
civilisation) has a variety of meanings related to human
society. The word "civilization" comes from the
Latin word for townsman or citizen,
civis, and its adjectival form,
civilis. To be "civilized" essentially meant being a townsman, governed by the constitution and legal statutes of that community.
Roman civil law was gathered together into a consolidated body of the "
Corpus Juris Civilis" in the
6th Century for
Emperor Justinian (
483-
565 CE). Justinian's code was rediscovered and used by law professors at the first
University established in Western Europe, at
Bologna in the
11th century. From
1388 the word "civil" appeared in English, while "civilization" as a "law which makes a criminal process civil", appeared in
1704, closely followed in
1722 with "civilization" - meaning the opposite of "barbarity" and coming probably from the
French language.
*
Anthropology*
Continent*
Earth*
Human*
Human geography*
Sociology*
World community* Sapolsky, Robert.
"Are The Desert People Winning."
Discover. 26 (2005).* [https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/xx.html CIA World Factbook entry on The World]
* worldatlas.com
* worldinformation.com
