New York, Sept. 26 -- Finland has thrown its diplomatic weight behind the most radical idea in United Nations politics today. No single country, Helsinki argues, should possess the power to choke off the world's business with one raised hand. After a week of sparring at the General Assembly and Security Council in New York, President Alexander Stubb made the case in plain terms. The veto right that the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France guard as sovereign prerogative has become a machine for paralysis. He urged member states to replace it with a voting system that reflects the twenty first century and to give permanent seats to underrepresented regions in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Stubb's push is not a rh...