4 ms·

I dislike small countries, I felt claustrophobic back when Sweden wasn't a member of the EU and a move abroad would need to be planned many months in advance wi

I dislike small countries, I felt claustrophobic back when Sweden wasn't a member of the EU and a move abroad would need to be planned many months in advance with reams of paperwork. Problems were smaller scale back when we had those itsy-bitsy countries that Stross is so romantic about. Small countries today only breeds parochialism (not in my backyard!) and cultural backwardness. And EU isn't an escape valve from that. Multiply the number of countries in the EU by three and watch it grind to a halt. I wouldn't mind a nordic union swallowing all the nordic states and move away from the romantic idea of a state for every nation.

adventured 12y ago
New Zealand, Hong Kong (pre 1997), and Singapore, aren't really what I'd call culturally backwards. They may not be on the cutting edge culturally, but they're not backwards. And on the flip side, there are plenty of large countries that are narrow minded and backwards in every respect. I'd argue most countries in the world today are either slightly or extremely backwards and mostly tend to their own sphere of matters. There are perhaps a mere three dozen countries for which such isn't true. India and China have 2.4 billion people, I'd argue about 2/3 of those people live culturally backwards (what a cultural snob from NY, Paris, London etc might define as such anyway) and narrowly focused lives. Most of those people have very little real knowledge or awareness of the greater international world. Their problems, knowledge, experiences and lives in general are all extremely local. I struggle to see that parochialism and cultural backwardness is in any way particular to size.
- kryptiskt 12y ago
  If you slice and dice say the UK into smaller pieces, do you think London are gonna help Tyneside when the latter is hit by economic trouble? That's the parochialism that results from small countries, an endless accounting of small favors granted just because a border is put up and some people are defined as strangers.
mcantelon 12y ago
>the romantic idea of a state for every nation Yes, why should a nation have control over its own borders and resources? Taxation should not imply representation.
- kryptiskt 12y ago
  You don't have to base the government structure on it's people having a common language and heritage, forming a nation, as in most of Europe. You could make bigger units than that.

adventured 12y ago

New Zealand, Hong Kong (pre 1997), and Singapore, aren't really what I'd call culturally backwards. They may not be on the cutting edge culturally, but they're not backwards. And on the flip side, there are plenty of large countries that are narrow minded and backwards in every respect. I'd argue most countries in the world today are either slightly or extremely backwards and mostly tend to their own sphere of matters. There are perhaps a mere three dozen countries for which such isn't true. India and China have 2.4 billion people, I'd argue about 2/3 of those people live culturally backwards (what a cultural snob from NY, Paris, London etc might define as such anyway) and narrowly focused lives. Most of those people have very little real knowledge or awareness of the greater international world. Their problems, knowledge, experiences and lives in general are all extremely local. I struggle to see that parochialism and cultural backwardness is in any way particular to size.

kryptiskt 12y ago
If you slice and dice say the UK into smaller pieces, do you think London are gonna help Tyneside when the latter is hit by economic trouble? That's the parochialism that results from small countries, an endless accounting of small favors granted just because a border is put up and some people are defined as strangers.

mcantelon 12y ago

>the romantic idea of a state for every nation Yes, why should a nation have control over its own borders and resources? Taxation should not imply representation.

kryptiskt 12y ago
You don't have to base the government structure on it's people having a common language and heritage, forming a nation, as in most of Europe. You could make bigger units than that.