If localities have self-determination, it results in a country full of mini-laboratories where we can figure out what works and what doesn't.
Granted, in the localities that practice oppression and hatred, things will be miserable, but at least people can leave. If enough people leave, the people who stay behind will become marginalized and poor and, in general, suffer. Everyone else can then see the terrible results from that laboratory and do something else.
If we don't give localities self-determination, instead forcing one flavor on the entire nation, we don't get all these laboratories. If we adopt a model that leads to suffering and deprivation, the entire nation is screwed.
The entire nation, in other words, can become Portland.
Portland: A Laboratory Experiment on Progressive Politics
Naomi Schaefer Riley at City Journal
Localism is Better Because It Provides Far More Options
This is a frustrating interview. The champions of localism, Front Porch Republic, interview an enemy of it, Trevor Latimore (author of Small Isn’t Beautiful). It’s a cordial exchange, with interesting arguments/points by both sides, but Latimore’s position seems to gel around this simple point: Yes, central governments can suck,
