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I think we like city states for the same reason we like toys. Especially adult ones like complex model railroads. It’s like full-scale sim city.
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Also there are zero “hinterland states” with no cities. Those are even less stable. Only chocolate chip cookie topologies work.
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I think the single biggest problem is water. If you invent really cheap desal, tons of coastal cities would be viable as states
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Replying to
Worth noting that Singapore in fact joined Malaysia for a couple of years (1963-65) but was kicked out after refusing to pony up more revenues to KL. And the hinterlands point is exactly right: for decades there were big questions about how Singapore would get enough water.
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There is plenty of water in California to support a large human population, just not enough to do that and water intensive agriculture in the Central Valley. Rationalizing water pricing would resolve this immediately.
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Replying to and
Politically even more fraught for sure but actually easier to address with the stroke of a pen. Just mandate market based pricing for water and urban California’s water problems disappear.
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