I like the idea, especially for the experimentation in governance it would foster.
One possible issue is that the democrat/republican divide often tends to be urban/rural, rather than by state.
Ideally, this sort of change would be accompanied by a redrawing of state lines, enabling both a) more than 50 states and b) better alignments of geography/population to statehood.
You’re reading my mind!!!!!!! My next essay is about what would happen if we divided the country into city-states!! (And it would be for those exact reasons: the divide is urban/rural, and we’d be better aligned with our governments!)
Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic about any of these changes actually happening; from what little I know a constitutional convention seems necessary, and that seems well outside the realm of the possible.
Yes, it might not be possible right now to call a constitutional convention and reorganize into city states. But it’s entirely possible to give more autonomy (and fiscal autonomy) to local and state governments. Sometimes I think it’s worth writing about/thinking about the ideal so then we can see how we can get there (rather than working with what we have now and trying to tweak it slightly better).
I like the idea, especially for the experimentation in governance it would foster.
One possible issue is that the democrat/republican divide often tends to be urban/rural, rather than by state.
Ideally, this sort of change would be accompanied by a redrawing of state lines, enabling both a) more than 50 states and b) better alignments of geography/population to statehood.
You’re reading my mind!!!!!!! My next essay is about what would happen if we divided the country into city-states!! (And it would be for those exact reasons: the divide is urban/rural, and we’d be better aligned with our governments!)
I look forward to reading it.
Unfortunately, I’m not optimistic about any of these changes actually happening; from what little I know a constitutional convention seems necessary, and that seems well outside the realm of the possible.
Yes, it might not be possible right now to call a constitutional convention and reorganize into city states. But it’s entirely possible to give more autonomy (and fiscal autonomy) to local and state governments. Sometimes I think it’s worth writing about/thinking about the ideal so then we can see how we can get there (rather than working with what we have now and trying to tweak it slightly better).