
Are nation states still valid in the Internet age? - iafrikan
The Internet has somewhat broken down borders, especially in things like e-commerce. There are many more examples. So do we still need governance in the form of nation states?
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folknor
I'm baffled by you asking this question, and I'm wondering who you represent
as you ask it - the website, or yourself, whomever that might be?

The question is so broad that it's almost impossible to answer without dozens
of caveats and presuppositions.

I think the quickest answer I can give is "yes, because the further removed
government officials are from their constituents, the more abstract the
constituents become."

Another quick one is probably "yes, because the there's no path to an
alternative that doesn't begin with a lot of death and destruction."

Those are just the two immediate and quick ones that pop into mind, and
remember what I said initially about the caveats and presuppositions - I
didn't list any of them for my two scenarios, because most of them are self-
evident to any reader.

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iafrikan
It is a question for an article one of our writers is working on. It is not a
conclusive statement, just a question.

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AnimalMuppet
Why do we need a nation-state?

The single biggest thing a nation-state is for: Keeping hostile people from
crossing the border with guns. You can't stop that with lots of internet
connectivity and e-commerce. (And you're naive if you think the internet age
means that nobody invades neighboring countries any longer.)

Other things nation-states do: Enforce laws against, for example, fraud.
That's of value even if the commerce is happening on the internet.

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iafrikan
Can't we break down governance to city states rather?

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AnimalMuppet
We could. But why would we want to? Why, in your view, would city states be
better than nation states?

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iafrikan
More accountability from those who govern as well as reducing a BIG central
point of failure.

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AnimalMuppet
True, at least in theory. It's at the price of higher transaction costs for
everything you do outside your city (or the surrounding region, at best).
Whether that's a win or not depends on your perspective, I suppose.

