Of course, not every decision should be made at the global level. Zoning laws, for example, are a local matter. Applying the principle of subsidiarity, every decision should be made at the most local, least centralized level possible, so long as all stakeholders are included. Our new global layer will handle only those issues that can not be resolved more locally.
In order to gain acceptance, our global democracy must be phased in (as we will describe below under “Phasing In”), rather than implemented all at once. As a result of the phase-in, existing national, state/province, county, and municipal boundaries will continue to exist, at least initially. These provide readily available jurisdictions for localized decision-making.
Yet these existing lines, which are often arbitrary (e.g., straight, regardless of topography or cultural history), are likely to become less relevant over time, as liquid democracy takes hold, removing the geographic constraint of representation, and as national sovereignty is phased out in favor of global democracy. Instead of our current lines, we may see more organic subsidiary territories emerge, such as greater metropolitan areas, transportation corridors, or watersheds.
One challenge is how to define the minimum competent jurisdictions for any type of decision. This is a complex task, but it can be sorted out through appropriate self-selection.
For example, people could self-identify as having an interest in a given issue, such as rights to water from the Colorado River. Substantial numbers of people throughout the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico would likely claim an interest; people on other continents likely would not. A threshold, such as “at least 20% of people in any postal code claiming an interest”, can be set to determine initial boundaries for votes on this issue; these boundaries can be adjusted any time people in a geography of any size organize enough interest to claim, or disclaim, interest in a given matter.