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Are there successful nation states that do not rely on centralized power? Take the US for example after 1865 it was made clear that the US has one capital, one
by MomoXenosaga 5y ago
Are there successful nation states that do not rely on centralized power? Take the US for example after 1865 it was made clear that the US has one capital, one leader and one government.
- rguillebert 5y agoThe book "Why nations fail" makes the claim that centralized institutions (among other things) are necessary for building a prosperous country. It's a very interesting read.
- 317070 5y agoBelgium and Switzerland come to mind? Two highly federalised states.
- AHabe 5y agoWhich is how you end up without a government for 589 days.
- toyg 5y agoSomebody could argue that's a feature, not a bug. But more seriously: if high federalisation means more mechanisms actually end up working fine without top-down directives, isn't that a good thing...? Without going all Bakunin, surely requiring fewer "chiefs" to achieve the same levels of prosperity can be considered a step forward for society.
- SyzygistSix 5y agoIsn't that a case of more chiefs, each of which have less authority?
- toyg 5y agoIdeally we'd all be our own chief, surely? So "going down" gets us closer to utopia.
- willcipriano 5y agoFrom my read of history, empires start off more like republics and then centralize over time until they collapse under their own weight. It was said best by Aristotle: "Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms."