3 ms·

"borders become irrelevant" On the contrary, citizens become more nationalistic. The pendulum will swing right again. EU falling apart already due to it.

nostrademons 7y ago
I think we'll see some citizens become more nationalist, while the number of people who are either stateless or consider themselves only loosely attached to a state grows dramatically. At the same time non-state organizations (multinational corporations, drug cartels, city-states, religious fundamentalists) will grow in power to fill the void left by the shrunken state, taking over many of the functions of the state like physical security, dispute resolution, taxation, infrastructure, etc. This is already happening as well: while the hinterlands of Britain voted for Brexit, it was widely unpopular in London, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other regions, and may lead to the breakup of the UK. I could easily see a future where cities declare their independence and then organize a loose global confederation of free-trade agreements and mutual assistance pacts, leaving behind rump states ruling over the rural areas of what used to be their country. Then add in private corporations (incubated within the cities) to provide physical security for travelers and migrants who pay for the service.
- einpoklum 7y ago
  "City-states" - I doubt that, unless they have their own army, currency etc. However, the model of the Hanseatic cities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League may be something that certain cities or city-regions could theoretically try to set up.
  - thepangolino 7y ago
    The concept is not that far away. You already have city tolls coming back into fashion with the implementation of fees to enter “Low Emissions Zones”
    - einpoklum 7y ago
      Adding local regulation that doesn't contradict state law isn't that difficult. The difficult part is getting nation-states to exempt such states from much of the national law.

nostrademons 7y ago

I think we'll see some citizens become more nationalist, while the number of people who are either stateless or consider themselves only loosely attached to a state grows dramatically. At the same time non-state organizations (multinational corporations, drug cartels, city-states, religious fundamentalists) will grow in power to fill the void left by the shrunken state, taking over many of the functions of the state like physical security, dispute resolution, taxation, infrastructure, etc. This is already happening as well: while the hinterlands of Britain voted for Brexit, it was widely unpopular in London, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other regions, and may lead to the breakup of the UK. I could easily see a future where cities declare their independence and then organize a loose global confederation of free-trade agreements and mutual assistance pacts, leaving behind rump states ruling over the rural areas of what used to be their country. Then add in private corporations (incubated within the cities) to provide physical security for travelers and migrants who pay for the service.

einpoklum 7y ago
"City-states" - I doubt that, unless they have their own army, currency etc. However, the model of the Hanseatic cities: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League may be something that certain cities or city-regions could theoretically try to set up.
- thepangolino 7y ago
  The concept is not that far away. You already have city tolls coming back into fashion with the implementation of fees to enter “Low Emissions Zones”
  - einpoklum 7y ago
    Adding local regulation that doesn't contradict state law isn't that difficult. The difficult part is getting nation-states to exempt such states from much of the national law.