Next Five States?

Not sure I get Barnett's article in Esquire about new US states. If anything, the signs are that we will be losing stars (more defacto than formal at the political level) in the next decades rather than gaining them. Managing that process smartly, is going to be a huge challenge.

Also, I don't see decentralization like the above as a negative or pessimistic outcome. In fact, just the opposite. It's the optimal and most positive outcome we could hope for.

Comments

[Fabius Maximus]

Based on Barnett's logic, something's wrong with my height. Considering the growth rate of my first 18 years, I should be 20 feet tall by now.

Also, he's not quite correct about how America grew so large. "Historically, the U.S. added states by flooding the territory in question with its nationals and then having them petition back for statehood."

We grew through purchase (the Louisiana purchase, the Gadsden purchase, and Alaska) and by conquest (the Mexican-American War, and of course the various Indian wars). Barnett's mechanism of "move in and take over" applied only in a few special circumstances (e.g., Texas, California, perhaps Hawaii).

Neither conquest nor purchase look like viable mechanisms in the 21st century. And, as John notes, "move and own" is more likely to work against us as for us.

[Tuor]

Wow - Tom is even more optimistic than I thought.

[John Robb]

Also, states are moving towards more independent policies, particularly relative to global problems. The more backward and bankrupt the Federal system is, the more they will innovate outward.

[Michael Tanji]

I think every time PR tries to vote on statehood it gets smacked down (why ruin a good thing?).

Hawaii(ans) have long advocated going the native-American route and were never closer to that goal than last year.

Cuba I could almost see, and not just because I want more ready access to a choice smoke. What they've got now makes our federal system seem pretty sweet, and in a fit of post-Castro glee who knows what they might do.

[Jamais Cascio]

John, I highly recommend Prof. Juan Enriquez' UNTIED STATES OF AMERICA as a refreshingly-written look at the centripetal forces affecting the modern nation-state.

[Michael]

A conversation on COMING ANARCHY a few months back suggests that PR is a possibility. Congress wises up to the reality that the primary beneficiaries of the current arrangement are a few fat cat corporations; it tells Puerto Rico to start the statehood process or start becoming independent. Puerto Rico realizes they're better off all the way in than all the way out.