Freedman suggests that the steady growth of the federal government, and Washington D.C., could find some relief in a red and blue resistance to being micro-managed:
‘Conservatives may still be the most vocal advocates of greater state autonomy, but federalism is far from a uniquely conservative phenomenon. Indeed, the revival of states’ rights is a movement that has the potential to unite Left and Right while fundamentally changing the balance of power in America’
Related On This Site: Ross Douthat At The NY Times: ‘Washington Versus America’…Megan McArdle At The Daily Beast: ‘America’s New Mandarins’…Harvey Mansfield At Defining Ideas: ‘Democracy Without Politics?’…From Bloggingheads: “Michael Lind Discusses His New Book ‘Land Of Promise’”
Mead takes a look at the blue model (the old progressive model) from the ground up in NYC to argue that it’s simply not working. Check out his series at The American Interest. Technology is changing things rapidly, and maybe, as Charles Murray points out, it’s skewing the field toward high IQ positions while simultaneously getting rid of industrial, managerial, clerical, labor intensive office jobs. Even so, we can’t cling to the past.