---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The United Nations would probably have to…"
description: "\"The United Nations would probably have to rest on two pillars: one constituted by an assembly of equal executive representatives of individual countrie..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg"
---

#  The United Nations would probably have to rest on two…

![“The United Nations would probably have to rest on two pillars: one constituted by an assembly of equal executive representatives of individual countries, resembling the present plenary, and the other consisting of a group elected directly by the globe's population in which the number of delegates…” quote by Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg)

> “The United Nations would probably have to rest on two pillars: one constituted by an assembly of equal executive representatives of individual countries, resembling the present plenary, and the other consisting of a group elected directly by the globe's population in which the number of delegates representing individual nations would, thus, roughly correspond to the size of the nations.”

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A reformed UN should have an equal‑representation assembly and a directly elected global body reflecting population size.

**In simple terms:** Two‑tier UN: equal nations plus population‑based representatives.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for democratic global governance.

Themes

governance democracy global cooperation

Mood

critical optimistic

Type

political theoretical

When to use this quote

- climate negotiations
- human rights
- global health
- peacekeeping

Key Concepts

political reform international law

Questions to Reflect On

- How to ensure fair representation?
- What safeguards prevent majority tyranny?

A Different Perspective

Implementation faces sovereignty resistance.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Delegates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delegates/) [Executives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/executives/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Representatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/representatives/) [United nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-nations/)

## Related quotes

> [If the money wasted on arms could be used to help the less developed nations, that would probably be a greater blow against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clement-attlee/if-the-money-wasted-on-arms-could-be-used-to-help-the-less-developed/)

[Clement Attlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clement-attlee/)

> [The U.N.'s driving mission is to accumulate power at the expense of the sovereignity of individual nations and fundamental individual rights, and its gun-ban…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-lapierre/the-u-n-s-driving-mission-is-to-accumulate-power-at-the-expense-of/)

[Wayne LaPierre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-lapierre/)

> [Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/character-in-the-long-run-is-the-decisive-factor-in-the-life-of-an/)

[Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/)

> [Individual nations have offered their own contributions to income inequality - financial deregulation and upper-bracket tax cuts in the United States; insider privatization in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/individual-nations-have-offered-their-own-contributions-to-income/)

[Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/)

> [“One World is not abolishing frontiers, which would lead to a surge in migration, create tension and destabilise life on our planet. One World…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/one-world-is-not-abolishing-frontiers-which-would-lead-to-a-surge-in/)

[Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/)

> [It would appear that, on the level of individual nations and of international relations, the free market is the most efficient instrument for utilizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/it-would-appear-that-on-the-level-of-individual-nations-and-of/)

[Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/)

> [To be sure, China is nowhere as powerful as the U.S., but it has acquired the ability to impose its will on individual nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjaya-baru/to-be-sure-china-is-nowhere-as-powerful-as-the-u-s-but-it-has/)

[Sanjaya Baru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjaya-baru/)

> [“The number of individuals who know how to make a can of Coke is zero. The number of individual nations that could produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-number-of-individuals-who-know-how-to-make-a-can-of-coke-is-zero/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [At Microsoft I had many years of experience and history and seeing connections. With my direct reports, the job at Microsoft was to delegate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-ballmer/at-microsoft-i-had-many-years-of-experience-and-history-and-seeing/)

[Steve Ballmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-ballmer/)

> [Conventions are, by nature, a party. I mean, that's why people become delegates. They come from all over the world to exercise their democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-lowe/conventions-are-by-nature-a-party-i-mean-that-s-why-people-become/)

[Rob Lowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-lowe/)

> [A government, the constitution of which renders it unfit to be trusted with all the powers which a free people ought to delegate to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/a-government-the-constitution-of-which-renders-it-unfit-to-be-trusted/)

[Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/)

> [I have been an underdog my whole life, both in life and in politics. We're going to do well. We're going to pick up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-have-been-an-underdog-my-whole-life-both-in-life-and-in-politics-we/)

[Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/)

> [Do not delegate an assignment and then attempt to manage it yourself - you will make an enemy of the overruled subordinate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wess-roberts/do-not-delegate-an-assignment-and-then-attempt-to-manage-it-yourself/)

[Wess Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wess-roberts/)

> [I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/i-am-pretty-good-at-arithmetic-and-i-know-that-the-fight-in-front-of/)

[Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/)

> [ When \[Erwin Schrödinger\] went to the Solvay conferences in Brussels, he would walk from the station to the hotel where the delegates stayed, carrying… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dirac/when-erwin-schr-dinger-went-to-the-solvay-conferences-in-brussels-he/)

[Paul Dirac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dirac/)

## More by Vaclav Havel

> [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [People who live in the post-totalitarian system know only too well that the question of whether one or several political parties are in power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-who-live-in-the-post-totalitarian-system-know-only-too-well/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [“For by this very fact, individuals confirm the system, fulfill the system, make the system, are the system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/for-by-this-very-fact-individuals-confirm-the-system-fulfill-the/)

[Václav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [Hope is not a feeling of certainty that everything ends well. Hope is just a feeling that life and work have a meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/hope-is-not-a-feeling-of-certainty-that-everything-ends-well-hope-is/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [This is a confusing and uncertain period, when a thousand wise words can go completely unnoticed, and one thoughtless word can provoke an utterly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/this-is-a-confusing-and-uncertain-period-when-a-thousand-wise-words/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [If by believing you mean praying to an anthropomorphic deity who created the world and half controls it and half observes it, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/if-by-believing-you-mean-praying-to-an-anthropomorphic-deity-who/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [Human beings are compelled to live within a lie, but they can be compelled to do so only because they are in fact capable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/human-beings-are-compelled-to-live-within-a-lie-but-they-can-be/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [Our country, if that is what we want, can now permanently radiate love, understanding, the power of the spirit and of ideas. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/our-country-if-that-is-what-we-want-can-now-permanently-radiate-love/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [I cannot imagine that I could strive for something if I did not carry hope in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-cannot-imagine-that-i-could-strive-for-something-if-i-did-not-carry/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [People, your Government has returned to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/people-your-government-has-returned-to-you/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [A person who has been seduced by the consumer value system, whose identity is dissolved in an amalgam of the accouterments trappings of mass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/a-person-who-has-been-seduced-by-the-consumer-value-system-whose/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [Whether all is really lost or not depends entirely on whether or not I am lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/whether-all-is-really-lost-or-not-depends-entirely-on-whether-or-not/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [Sober perseverance is more effective than enthusiastic emotions, which are all too capable of being transferred, with little difficulty, to something different each day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/sober-perseverance-is-more-effective-than-enthusiastic-emotions-which/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [The exercise of power is determined by thousands of interactions between the world of the powerful and that of the powerless, all the more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-exercise-of-power-is-determined-by-thousands-of-interactions/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

> [It's not true that you should first think up an idea for a better world and only then "put it into practice," but, rather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/it-s-not-true-that-you-should-first-think-up-an-idea-for-a-better/)

[Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

[Explore all 190 Vaclav Havel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/)

## More Assembly quotes

> [We can see nothing whatever of the soul unless it is visible in the expression of the countenance; one might call the faces at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-c-lichtenberg/we-can-see-nothing-whatever-of-the-soul-unless-it-is-visible-in-the/)

[Georg C. Lichtenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-c-lichtenberg/)

> [ Mac \[Barnett\] and I prank each other during our presentation. We show baby pictures of each other looking completely ridiculous. I can't believe the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jory-john/mac-barnett-and-i-prank-each-other-during-our-presentation-we-show/)

[Jory John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jory-john/)

> [She went from opera, park, assembly, play, To morning walks, and prayers three hours a day. To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/she-went-from-opera-park-assembly-play-to-morning-walks-and-prayers/)

[Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/)

> [We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/we-stand-today-at-the-threshold-of-a-great-event-both-in-the-life-of/)

[Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/)

> [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/)

[Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/)

> [Yet if anyone cares to read over the now crumbling minutes giving an account of the meetings at which the Italian Fasci di Combattimento…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benito-mussolini/yet-if-anyone-cares-to-read-over-the-now-crumbling-minutes-giving-an/)

[Benito Mussolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benito-mussolini/)

> [To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/to-that-world-assembly-of-sovereign-states-the-united-nations-our/)

[John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/)

> [“Liberalism is a creation of the seventeenth century, fathered by British philosopher John Locke (1632–1704). For Locke, liberalism means limited government, the rule of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-boghossian/liberalism-is-a-creation-of-the-seventeenth-century-fathered-by/)

[Peter Boghossian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-boghossian/)

> [Well I'm not dancing," Will said through gritted teeth. "I don't know how." Oh yes you are," Alyss told him. "Let's hope you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/well-i-m-not-dancing-will-said-through-gritted-teeth-i-don-t-know-how/)

[John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/)

> [For you deal here above all with human life, and human life is sacred; no one may dare make an attempt upon it. Respect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/for-you-deal-here-above-all-with-human-life-and-human-life-is-sacred/)

[Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/)

> [I was a star campaigner for the Aruvikkara byelection and the assembly elections. They were very valuable experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-was-a-star-campaigner-for-the-aruvikkara-byelection-and-the/)

[Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/)

> [One cannot walk through an assembly factory and not feel that one is in Hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-h-auden/one-cannot-walk-through-an-assembly-factory-and-not-feel-that-one-is/)

[W. H. Auden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-h-auden/)

> [If you wait for a perfect church, you must wait until you get to heaven; and even if you could find a perfect assembly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/if-you-wait-for-a-perfect-church-you-must-wait-until-you-get-to/)

[Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/)

> [No harm will come to me. The Assembly is prepared to treat us leniently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoinette/no-harm-will-come-to-me-the-assembly-is-prepared-to-treat-us-leniently/)

[Marie Antoinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoinette/)

> [Every year, the United Nations General Assembly votes on a resolution entitled 'Peaceful resolution of the Palestine conflict.' Every year, the vote is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-finkelstein/every-year-the-united-nations-general-assembly-votes-on-a-resolution/)

[Norman Finkelstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-finkelstein/)

Browse all 409 Assembly quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The United Nations would probably have to rest on two pillars: one constituted by an assembly of equal executive representatives of individual countries, resembling the present plenary, and the other consisting of a group elected directly by the globe's population in which the number of delegates representing individual nations would, thus, roughly correspond to the size of the nations.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Vaclav Havel"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-united-nations-would-probably-have-to-rest-on-two-pillars-one/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Assembly"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-united-nations-would-probably-have-to-rest-on-two-pillars-one/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/vaclav-havel-2013_assembly_the-united-nations-would-probably-have-t_2173902.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The United Nations would probably have to rest on two pillars: one constituted by an assembly of equal…” — Vaclav Havel",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Vaclav Havel",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The United Nations would probably have...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-united-nations-would-probably-have-to-rest-on-two-pillars-one/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/the-united-nations-would-probably-have-to-rest-on-two-pillars-one/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
