Aug 4, 2010 at 7:52 AM
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I like the idea here. But the nation-state one seems way off.
Prerequisites: I'd agree with that. But non-state systems also require a mass ideology. And I'd bet non-states would require or eventually develop some forms of proactive coercion. So there might be better differentiating prerequisites here.
Structure: Vertically and horizontally polycentric.
Division: Regional, Functional, & Specialization is typical.
Error Elimination: Varies. In the USA voters take out the trash.
Free Competition: Varies. In the USA anyone can participate (well, money slants the field a bit).
And coming from someone with a fine art background, the art column needs some work too. Van Gogh is highly appreciated without patronage. Error is most unclear in the arts. The more specific function would be emotive expression.
"Free Competition: Varies. In the USA anyone can participate (well, money slants the field a bit)."
No - you missed the point. People can't start competing governments to the US government.
Nor can you start a competing gallery within an art gallery.
The category of nation-state isn't very meaningful if it only has a single member. Last I recall, the world is full of them.
"Nor can you start a competing gallery within an art gallery."
Who said anything about *within*? A competing art gallery would be in a different location.
Exactly.
If you want to focus on external sources and mechanisms of competition and evolution, then that would be other nation-states. If you want to focus on internal ones, that would be you. The chart seems to focus on the internal sources of a single nation-state.
Complaining that you can't start another nation-state/government within a nation-state is like complaining that you can't start a Dunkin' Donuts in a Starbucks. If you are complaining about a crowded external market, well, them's the breaks. But I think there are still some uninhabited corners of the world.
Modern nation-states are geographically organized. But systems of governance could conceivably be organized on very different bases, in which case there could be multiple groups in the same area. Would some other system of organization be better than geography? I'm not sure. I'm just noting that it's possible, in which case the state within a state thing would be a moot point.
Also, I would point out that to some extent the Amish and what's left of Native Americans have kind of managed something along these lines in the present system.
With modern information technologies, subscribing to governments like magazines might be possible. Infrastructure development would be difficult. Wranglings of overlapping legal systems would be complex. Defense would be a nightmare.
But unless they had the power to wage war and compete in the sense that all nation-states compete, I'm not sure what qualitative difference their structure would add to the internal evolution of the umbrella nation-state that our own multi-layered system (federal, state, county, city, HOA) doesn't offer. In the current system states often learn from each other, and the federal government often learns from the states. But there would probably be more constitutional and treaty variety in the distributed system.
It would be an interesting experiment. Maybe we could pay a poor 3rd world country to be the beta testers.
f you are complaining about a crowded external market, well, them's the breaks. But I think there are still some uninhabited corners of the world.
fashion styleIt would be an interesting experiment. Maybe we could pay a poor 3rd world country to be the beta testers.
style of yearIt would be an interesting experiment. Maybe we could pay a poor 3rd world country to be the beta testers.
a brandy look