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EU was founded quite recently. It too has mechanisms to avoid concentrating all the power in the hands of the big ones: Germany and France. E.g. for the Europe

EU was founded quite recently. It too has mechanisms to avoid concentrating all the power in the hands of the big ones: Germany and France. E.g. for the European Parliament, each country has a different level of representation (MPs per capita). Germany has the least representation and Malta has the highest. This way smaller countries also have a voice. There are other mechanisms as well(agencies HQs, comisioners etc.), but in the end Germany and France still have a lot of weighg in all the major decisions. If it wasn't for at least the current provisions it would have been even worse and probably the EU would have dissolved by now. US has a similar system of propping up smaller states: for senate and president elections. I don't see this anachronistic at all, the more I learn about it the more impressed I am with the wisdom of the american forefathers. E.g. The Senate does not represent the people, they represent the states. This is very similar to how EU "council of ministers" has one from each state, regardless how large that state is.

unethical_ban 5y ago
The EU and the US are at different levels of integration, though the EU does have free trade and travel. I should read the details on the implementation of the EU parliament, but I wonder if this "minority voice" equivalent in the EU is able to block essentially any progress or legislation. I also wonder why the states in the US should have nearly as much say as they have in 2021. We aren't a small band of ragtag cultures stretched across have the universe as we were in 1789.
- flavius29663 5y ago
  > block essentially any progress or legislation A lot of legislation is blocked in the EU, yes. The modus operandi of the EU is to compromise until every state is satisfied. And the US is far from being blocked out of any progress. The gay rights is more advanced than in Europe, infrastructure bills are passing with bipartisan support, COVID relief bills are passing with flying colors and with a much more consistent amount than in Europe. EU struggled to get 700 billions out after a year and a half! And it's still not distributed. I would say the US now is more diverse than in the 1700s. More diverse states, more diverse ethnicity (80% were white people in 1776, mostly English) and a HUGE population compared to 3 million back then.
  - unethical_ban 5y ago
    And yet we are more interconnected than ever before. Even the most impoverished can travel across the country in 3 days by car or bus. As diverse as our personal cultures are, our administration of state and infrastructure, our economy, is as interwoven as ever. I argue that there are many things which could have been handled by the states in 1800 that cannot now, or otherwise were not issues or responsibilities of the state at all in 1800.
    - flavius29663 5y ago
      I just gave you examples of EU inner workings. They are also incredibly interconnected, almost as much as the US. Still, they have institutions to give some power to the smaller entities/states. The US institutions are not made the way they are because "people could not travel far enough in a day", they are made as such to provide checks and balances. As an European living in the US, I feel like you have more stable mechanisms that work better than even the modern EU.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]

unethical_ban 5y ago

The EU and the US are at different levels of integration, though the EU does have free trade and travel. I should read the details on the implementation of the EU parliament, but I wonder if this "minority voice" equivalent in the EU is able to block essentially any progress or legislation. I also wonder why the states in the US should have nearly as much say as they have in 2021. We aren't a small band of ragtag cultures stretched across have the universe as we were in 1789.

flavius29663 5y ago
> block essentially any progress or legislation A lot of legislation is blocked in the EU, yes. The modus operandi of the EU is to compromise until every state is satisfied. And the US is far from being blocked out of any progress. The gay rights is more advanced than in Europe, infrastructure bills are passing with bipartisan support, COVID relief bills are passing with flying colors and with a much more consistent amount than in Europe. EU struggled to get 700 billions out after a year and a half! And it's still not distributed. I would say the US now is more diverse than in the 1700s. More diverse states, more diverse ethnicity (80% were white people in 1776, mostly English) and a HUGE population compared to 3 million back then.
- unethical_ban 5y ago
  And yet we are more interconnected than ever before. Even the most impoverished can travel across the country in 3 days by car or bus. As diverse as our personal cultures are, our administration of state and infrastructure, our economy, is as interwoven as ever. I argue that there are many things which could have been handled by the states in 1800 that cannot now, or otherwise were not issues or responsibilities of the state at all in 1800.
  - flavius29663 5y ago
    I just gave you examples of EU inner workings. They are also incredibly interconnected, almost as much as the US. Still, they have institutions to give some power to the smaller entities/states. The US institutions are not made the way they are because "people could not travel far enough in a day", they are made as such to provide checks and balances. As an European living in the US, I feel like you have more stable mechanisms that work better than even the modern EU.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]