People naturally centralize their governments. Since 1800, we have gone from separate and very independant colonies who could barely be coerced into joining into union against Britain, to a strong federal than states governments. Europe, at the same time, is blurring the lines of their countries into stronger and stronger unions.

Nothing terribly nefarious. People think that government can solve all of life's problems. Thus convincedm, it isn't even a jump to assume that the bigger the governement, the better it serves the wants and needs of the populace.

But at the same time, ever since the days of Alexander, whenever governement overextended itself, it soon became obviously incapable, not only of meeting the wants and needs of the people, but of protecting its interest from the conflicting interests of others who also wished to centralize but under a different government, centered in a different location.

But suddenly it has begun to look as though the cats that could never before in history be herded are round-upable. That is, transportation, communication, technology have made it seem likely that one government for all the people of the world is a possibility.

In fact, that explains to a very large degree why the world situation is as it is today.

The "internationalism" of the "neocons" under Bush is quite obvious -- they have accepted the notion that the world will be under one government. They are just hoping to be able to shape that government in a way that they think it should go.

The left, though not in power, and thus not as obviously, are just as internationalist. They just happen to think that the US should have a much smaller roll in the shaping of the government -- especially as regards any sort of "free enterprise" notions to the model. Their hopes are that the one world government will shake out to be the model wherein all work for the government and the government in turn distributes the wealth in an egalitarian way.

Those in power in the American left, I believe, are betting strongly on the possiblity that if they help "Europeanize" the US, they will have a bigger share of the government left to the US.

Internationalism is here. It's just a fight to see who gets to order the whole thing.