- Hayek (Streeck, Hazony) and world federation and colonialism Eric Schliesser, Digressions & Impressions
- The new secessionism Jason Sorens, Modern Age
- Winning the court, losing the constitution John Grove, Law & Liberty
- The quest for German national identity Anna Corsten, JHIBlog
Author: Brandon Christensen
The collapse of socialism and the sovereignty gap
When socialism collapsed in the late 1980s-early 1990s, many debates and contentions were settled, but the issue of sovereignty has only grown in importance thanks in large part to more economic integration. The European attempt at federation, undertaken after the fall of socialism, has not gone well precisely because it cannot close the Westphalian sovereignty gap. The bloodshed in the non-liberal world has largely been a product of the inability of states to fragment, an inability which is encouraged by notions of Westphalian sovereignty and institutionalized by IGOs such as the United Nations or World Bank.
If states wish to break away, but are prohibited from doing so by enormous costs (such as violent aggression from the state it wishes to break away from, or hostility from illiberal states that can use IGOs as mediums to act on those hostilities), then a federation which welcomes states into its union, and which is strong enough to deter aggression, would be a welcome, liberal development.
This is from my forthcoming article in the Independent Review. Here’s a sneak peak (pdf) at the whole thing. I’m guest editing a symposium on the subject at Cosmos + Taxis, in case any of you want to write a response, or add to the conversation…
Nightcap
- In search of the writer-diplomat tradition Robert Fay
- Trump is plenty capable Will Wilkinson, Open Society
- The case against Mars Byron Williston, Boston Review
- Against human colonies Daniel Deudney (interview), LH
Nightcap
- The meaning of Amy Coney Barrett Ross Douthat, NY Times
- What does Ruth Bader Ginsburg mean for women? Amy Wax, CRB
- Talking about a constitutional restoration Titus Techera, L&L
- Give it away (Marcel Mauss) David Graeber, Free Words
Nightcap
- The high stakes of quantum computing Edward Luttwak, American Affairs
- A metaphor for the socialist calculation debate Rick Weber, NOL
- The American constitution and its consequences (pdf) Mittal, et al, NBER
- NATO’s strategic malaise Sara Bjerg Moller, War on the Rocks
Transaction costs, exit, and democracy
“What is important to note, however, is that transaction costs associated with relocation matter. The relative success of protectionist and subsidyseeking groups in post-war Britain, Australia, and New Zealand was facilitated by the high costs associated with exercising the exit option. Both Britain and New Zealand are unitary and centralized nation states. Although Australia is a federation, there are only six states, each of which has less fiscal and regulatory autonomy than American states or Canadian provinces.
Polycentric democracy works most effectively when exit-related transaction costs are low and when the number of viable options is large. The closest approximations of a genuine polycentric democracy are the 50 American states and the 26 Swiss cantons.”
Read the rest (pdf). (Yes, I know this was part of last night’s “nightcap,” too.)
Nightcap
- The specter of neocolonialism Deborah Leter, Africa is a Country
- Sovereignty, IR, and the Westphalian myth (pdf) Andreas Osiander, IO
- The trouble with police unions Daniel DiSalvo, National Affairs
- Polycentric democracy and its enemies (pdf) David Andersson, C+T
Nightcap
- The world forager elite Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias
- The novel and the middle class Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
- The new leftist imagination Alexandra Marraccini, LARB
- Slavery and the Asante Empire Lipton Matthews, Mises Wire
Nightcap
- Vikings in the New World (but no Chinese?) Valerie Hansen, Aeon
- The 1619 Project is backtracking Robby Soave, Reason
- “This figure obscures class divisions: for college graduates…” Robert Henderson, City Journal
- Comparative advantage is not about trade John Wentworth, Less Wrong
Nightcap
- Is Trump more of a socialist than Biden? Shikha Dalmia, the Week
- How millennials became the burnout generation Anne Petersen, Buzzfeed
- The myth of harmonious indigenous conservation Baz Edmeades, Quillette
- Russian history through the Westerner’s gaze Ellie Holbrook, History Today
Nightcap
- Ravenna: where classical Rome, Byzantium and Christianity met Ian Thomson, Spectator
- ‘Cultural appropriation’ is American cultural imperialism Douglas Murray, UnHerd
- Will Eastern Mediterranean tensions matter if there is no war? Peter Henne, Duck of Minerva
- Bolivia: a tale of two countries Maëlle Mariette, Le monde diplomatique
Nightcap
- Conceptions of politics Chris Dillow, Stumbling & Mumbling
- From bootleg liberalism to Trumpist McCarthyism Irfan Khawaja, Policy of Truth
- Follow the social science, too Horwitz & Stephenson, EconLog
- Inequalities and Covid-19 Branko Milanovic, globalinequality
Nightcap
- Dangerous myths about nuclear weapons David Logan, War on the Rocks
- Honest putdowns Robin Hanson, Overcoming Bias
- “Sitting next to Sally” John Quiggan, Crooked Timber
- Hopelessness and the new capitalism Hans Eicholz, Law & Liberty
Nightcap
- Mourning in place Edwidge Danticat, NY Review of Books
- Is working hard good? Jason Brennan, 200-Proof Liberals
- When hard work doesn’t equal productive work Mary Lucia Darst, NOL
- “The actual work of trying to formulate truly alien conceptions of life, consciousness, and thought is mostly yet to be done” Nick Nielsen, GSA
Forthcoming: Reviving the libertarian interstate federalist tradition
One of my papers was accepted for publication in the libertarian journal The Independent Review. Here’s an excerpt:
This essay aims to fill that gap by making four arguments:
1. Prominent classical liberals and libertarians have long recognized the importance of interstate federalism for not only individual liberty but security for liberal polities in the international arena as well.
2. The American federalists of the late 18th century faced the same problems we face, and the distinct interstate order that they patched together to solve those problems is not an outmoded Leviathan; it is the missing piece of the puzzle to the libertarian and classical liberal tradition of interstate federalism.
3. The piecemeal federation of political units under the U.S. constitution would achieve more freedom for more people, and this interstate federalism should be enthusiastically embraced as the foreign policy principle for libertarians and classical liberals.
4. The American Proposal would solve the security (and cost-sharing) dilemma for liberal polities, but it would also contribute to a decline in the worrisome trend of presidential government in the United States.
I gotta give props to the editors and the referees of the journal. I know they didn’t like my argument, but they were fair, helpful, and a whole lotta fun. I’ll have more on this soon. In the mean time, here’s a sneak peak (pdf).
Notes On Liberty 