tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post460713300819145641..comments2024-02-21T14:18:09.212-08:00Comments on R World: Will the Nation-State Be Obsolete by 2100?Ron Davisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11972794876337195698noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-67044315801359297822007-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:002007-02-22T15:48:00.000-08:00I don't see it happening soon; though, Carthage wa...I don't see it happening soon; though, Carthage wasn't ready for Rome's power.<BR/><BR/>If it happens, I think it will be the result of economic evolution which will have to overcome religion and ethnic restraints.Davehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04411527807049220749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-14164933924169922292007-02-22T08:02:00.000-08:002007-02-22T08:02:00.000-08:00LH, its less of a prediction than a speculation. A...LH, its less of a prediction than a speculation. And just as we still have cities, I have trouble imagining a world without countries. The question is whether they will be relevant. <BR/><BR/>Thomas, I agree with you. At to tie to LH's point, the erosion of national power will likely be accelerated by multinational corporations and agencies like the WTO. Nation-states already have to gain approval from the WTO for trade policies, for instance. <BR/><BR/>It seems as though the locus of power shifts about like the water above a bathtub drain, a force we try to institutionalize like a kid trying to catch the whirlpool funnel.Ron Davisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11972794876337195698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-11495330814908148912007-02-22T05:50:00.000-08:002007-02-22T05:50:00.000-08:00This is your wildest prediction ever, and I can't ...This is your wildest prediction ever, and I can't see far enough into the future to a time when it may come to pass.<BR/><BR/>As you know from your consulting work, change is a really hard thing to accomplish, and the larger the organization the more difficult change seems to be. It usually takes a real crisis to spur change.<BR/><BR/>In the case of the EU, the crisis was economic. Their thicket of country-level trade barriers and their various currencies made them non-competitive in the world market.<BR/><BR/>It's unlikely economics will drive major additional consolidations because treaties and the WTO are breaking down trade barriers worldwide.<BR/><BR/>Vested interests in countries have much to lose from consolidations, so they promote nationalism. Even "progressive" movements like American unions have much to fear from consolidations that would open up the labor market.<BR/><BR/>What it will take to bring the human race closer together? Yes, a threat, a crisis, one so challenging that it must be addressed jointly by many countries. But must the threat become a reality before it is powerful enough to prompt a new order in the world? Most likely.Life Hikerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00183254858386081439noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32914592.post-42154093312379751942007-02-22T03:58:00.000-08:002007-02-22T03:58:00.000-08:00I think the nation-states are already in decline, ...I think the nation-states are already in decline, supplanted by multinational corporations. Organizations like the WTO were created not for the benefit of governments, at least not directly, but for the benefit of businesses.<BR/><BR/>You could argue that we're already at the point where if you want to change the world, don't vote- buy stock.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com