While I like the idea of city states, I do not like the idea of federalized government acting with the authority of city states. The reason Singapore works is b

While I like the idea of city states, I do not like the idea of federalized government acting with the authority of city states. The reason Singapore works is because people can leave, or go there, as they please. Anglosphere nations should treat cities as autonomous entities with clear boundaries, and exceptional rules systems that meet their needs, but there is an urge in the overall polis that treats any limitation on their dominion as something to be militated against. The main objection to this diverse autonomy comes from human rights concerns. The city-state question is very close to the the so-called "states rights" issue in the US, where many people interpret it as just being free to oppress others, etc. However, it's also worth looking at the history of human rights and what they mean before appealing to them as a neutral universal value, as unlike a base state of freedom, rights must be granted by a sovereign or a law, which means universal human rights also mean a universal governor of them, and this necessarily subjugates all people under the regime that grants them. Appeals to human rights are appeals to the creation of a global human granting authority without limit, and while we tolerate this view as a diverse perspective, and adopt some of its better working principles, when you think it through and read the history of it, it's an appeal to subjugate the species under a single rights granting regime. When people talk about progress it is progress toward this end. It's a popular sentiment, but one not without criticism. Most of what we get from human rights and often conflate them with is human dignity and freedom, but unfortunately, the rights language necessarily means some are more equal than others, and requires a paternalism that is not as universally appealing. Singapore is a really intresting 1.0 or beta regime, but advocates for it who do not advocate the autonomy of city states and the freedom of people are really more into finding an acceptable face of authoritarianism for their agendas, imo.