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Most folks do not know the history of the sovereign state, but the version that we have today is a descendent of the Westphalian State (https://en.wikipedia.org
by bmh_ca 11y ago
Most folks do not know the history of the sovereign state, but the version that we have today is a descendent of the Westphalian State (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_sovereignty https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_sovereignty). Even fewer people know why it came about in this form, yet the reason it came about may be quite important in this discussion.
After the Thirty Years and Eighty Years Wars came the Westphalian Peace of 1648 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_of_Westphalia). A primary objective of the Peace was to recognize sovereignty because during the war and in the time leading up to it integrated economies were wracked by shocks and corruption.
Some argue, and I am mindful that, the only proven bulwark against such shocks and corruption may be sovereignty of the sort that the Westphalian Peace created.
The notion of sovereignty has stood the test of time – it seems reasonably compatible with how collectives of humans perceive and react with their world – but through the modern globalization of capital we may be re-learning a 360 year old lesson.
So while the globalization of human labour has yet to catch up to freedom of international capital flows – a failure that creates tremendous unfairness, and this analysis is admittedly brief and glossy, it is worth keeping in mind that we may be unlocking the same doors that created unfathomable multi-generational wars now long forgotten.