Today there are approximately 7 billion humans on this planet, existing as Homo sapiens for hundreds of thousands of years. One would think that by now we would have figured out how to eradicate hunger, disease and create for humanity a “Heaven on Earth”. But, the six habitable continents are separated by five oceans, hundreds of mountain ranges, and thousands of lakes and rivers. Until recent history, the inhabitants of the various land masses had little contact with each other and their societies evolved in much different directions. Even today the earth is fragmented into almost 200 independent sovereign nations, each with its own politics, priorities and problems. And the “Superpowers” have always been, and will continue to be, more interested in advancing their own interests than those of “lesser” nations.
Words like “country”, “empire”, “civilization” and “nation” are imaginary abstractions, invented by regional and imperial rulers to delineate and define conquered territories. The inhabitants of these patches of geography are best described historically as subjects rather than citizens in that all people were “subject” to the will of the ruler. Any freedoms available to these people were either granted to them arbitrarily or taken by force through revolution. This fear typically caused rulers to tighten government’s grip through strong police repression and terror; assuming, of course that they had control of the necessary force. Otherwise, these leaders would either be executed or coerced to appease their subjects by allowing limited freedom and liberty.