As the United Nations moves into its second half-century the international organization is beset by problems. It is increasingly suborned or ignored by the USA, pursuing its own global objectives. The UN is inadequately resourced and faces many other barriers erected by Washington and other powerful states. UN personnel are frequently accused of mismanagement, corruption and even the abuse of human rights. There is also the problem of how the UN should develop to best serve the real world community, not what the West usually means by the ‘international community’. Finally, the ‘other UN’ (the IMF, the World Bank, GATT, etc), often working against the best spirit of the UN, should be considered. These problems are explored, leading to a 50-point reform agenda for the UN.