Global domination
|
|
Global domination, global conquest or world domination is an ambitious goal in which one government, one ideology or belief system, or even one person, seeks to secure complete political control of the entire planet Earth. It can be considered the extreme form of global hegemony.
Though it is debatable if a planet as complex and diverse as ours could ever be successfully "dominated" by a single central authority in this way, the concept of global domination has long been a popular theme in both history and fiction.
Throughout history
Before modern times, global domination was limited by rudimentary transportation technologies and knowledge of geography. The Roman Empire had goals of global domination, and indeed the empire was able to conquer most of the "known world" (i.e., Europe) throughout its long history. Others who succeeded in conquering large portions of the world include Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan. Throughout history there have been many secret shadow societies and brotherhoods dedicated--at least in literature and apocryphy--to taking over the world or are supposed to have already done so: the Illuminati, The Masons, the Templars, etc.
Many proselytising religions such as Islam and Christianity are universalist, viewing it as a duty to convert as many people as possible to their religion, without restrictions on national or ethnic origin. This spiritual domination (see, for example, Kingdom of Heaven) is usually by most people seen to be distinct from a centralised temporal domination, but certain fringe groupings within these religions have an established goal of global theocracy.
Similarly, some devoted adherents of many different ideologies, such as anarchism, Communism, neoconservatism, social democracy, liberalism or libertarianism view their credo as the ideal form of societal organisation, and actively encourage its implementation throughout the world. During (and after) the period of the Cold War, supporters of the two rival camps expressed a hope that their ideology would emerge triumphant over the other and become the pre-eminent form of government worldwide. Elements within the allied blocs led by the Soviet Union and the United States accused each other of having objectives of global domination.
After the end of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union's collapse, Francis Fukuyama in The End of History predicted that liberal democracy would become the favoured form of government throughout the earth. This period was called by some the New World Order.
French dictator Napoleon Bonaparte had sights on global domination, and is often thought of as being the quintessential global conqueror. The popular board game Risk ("The Game of Global Domination") is largely based on the campaigns and methods of Napoleon.
In World War II, the Nazi regime of Adolf Hitler had ambitious plans for directly controlling all of Europe, and then hopefully obtaining a position of power that would make them a formidable superpower in global politics.
Since the Great October Socialist Revolution, the Bolsheviks envisioned their regime as the first step to Communism dominating the world. The Comintern was established in 1919 in order to encourage Communist parties across the world and promote international proletarian revolution. Their partial success has became known as the Eastern Bloc.
In the aftermath of the Cold War, critics of American foreign policy have argued that the United States seeks, or indeed actually has, global hegemony. Ironically, some calls to unite anti-globalization movements around the globe may be also seen as utopian attempts to take over the world from corporate powers.
In fiction and games
Global domination is also frequently used in science fiction as the sinister ambition of the story's villain. This in turn is often a source of parody, frequently in cartoons such as Pinky and the Brain in which a super-intelligent mouse tries to concoct elaborate schemes to take over the world, but is constantly thwarted by the dull-witted companion he relies on. Linus Torvalds, developer of Linux, has also mock-seriously described his goals as "world domination, fast." Because of the ubiquity of Microsoft products in the computing world, company founder Bill Gates has been parodied as seeking world domination. World domination is also the most common plot line in the James Bond movie series.
On the Nickelodeon TV series, Invader Zim, Zim is an example of someone failing to conquer the world.
The board game Risk often labels itself as the "world domination game" or the "game of global conquest".
Many video games have a goal of global domination. For example, in Alpha Centauri the main goal is global domination which can be achieved by a variety of different methods.