The release of 251,287 US State Department documents starting yesterday and
ranging from the secret to the embarrassing was the coup de grace of the
modern nation-state. Well . . . not exactly . . . not yet . . . it's only
a way-station . . . but Julian Assange's peccadillo will make its way into
the history books as one of the notable events when the fate of the
nation-state is finally described.
Newspapers have been prying into state secrets ever since they were
invented. And then, for those old enough to remember, we had the release of
secret documents about the Vietnam War in 1971 (the "Pentagon Papers") by
Daniel Ellsberg. On that occasion the US government tried to prosecute him
and jail him for many years but public opinion, and the newspapers and
court judges, were on his side. Finally the US government -- rather
laughably -- "lost" the wire-tap evidence against Ellsberg and he lived
happily ever after. Indeed, he's still with us, aged 79 -- hopefully hale
and hearty. No doubt similar attempts will be made to incarcerate Julian
Assange in the present case.
But why the death of the nation-state? The answer is very simple. The world
has become too complex for any nation-state to understand. Real-world
information can't get to the top of the political pyramid quickly enough
and accurately enough for a modern government to respond in the way that
they ought to. Built like an army -- indeed, its origin owing much to the
structure of armies during the 19th century -- the top-down pyramidal
control by the nation-state, passing down through many ranks, is failing.
The sort of secret diplomacy which came to the fore with the nascent
nation-state during the Middle Ages has now largely gone for good.
Nation-states are leaking like colanders. There is only one remaining
nation-state -- North Korea -- which is still largely impenetrable to
prying eyes.
We'll always need governance, of course. Basic justice and basic protection
against violence (whether local or from afar) still needs to be maintained,
but many other control functions that nation-states (particularly their
civil services) have assumed in the course of the industrial revolution are
now melting away. Nation-states, like all power institutions before them
(organized religions), will take a long time to die because substantial
proportions of their populations have a direct financial interest (jobs or
perks) that they should continue as long as possible.
Nevertheless, although nation-states may have been 'fit for purpose' in the
days of large and affordable armies, as they were for the first half of the
20th century, they are now being overtaken by all sorts of laterally
organized, trans-national specializations such as innovations, businesses,
science research, interest groups, personal activities, cultural fashions
and even, so help us, criminal gangs. Increasingly, these are taking their
own decisions (including, importantly, economic ones) and have their own
methods of influencing public opinion -- which, of course, the Internet is
now accelerating.
Paradoxically, even though nation-states had almost completely extinguished
Common Law and Mercantile Law in the last century with untold volumes of
Statutory Law (including attempts at International Law), even their civil
services are increasingly unable to understand or fairly apply the laws
that they themselves have formulated (given half a nod and wink by the
politicians that they largely manipulate). Or, as often happens, their laws
have counter-intuitive effects. Thankfully, however, just enough of the
former laws, tested and honed over millennia, survive. When, for example,
two large businesses are in dispute they are still turning to New York
Common Law or London Equity courts to resolve matters. The recently
formulated World Trade Organization (although making heavy weather of it at
present!) is actually a revival of Medieval Mercantile Law (the important
principle here being that there is no top-down authority involved but
lateral arrangements between parties).
I could go on, but I won't. Suffice it to say that this morning's thoughts
were prompted by the financial fiasco that's been going on in Brussels over
the week-end and the interim solution -- the printing of yet more money,
albeit heavily disguised with verbal garbage in order to mystify the
punters. And then there's the fiasco that's still going on in America
where, unless unemployment magically rises in the near future, Ben Bernanke
threatens to release yet more money by all sorts of clever methods. The day
of the wheelbarrow being taken to the supermarket is not all that far off.
Keith
Keith Hudson, Saltford, England
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