EconTalk Nassim Nicholas Taleb on the Nations, States, and Scale
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Jul 11, 2022 
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a renowned scholar and author, shares his insights on the complexities of governance and national identity. He discusses the challenges larger nations face in curating a cohesive identity and advocates for smaller, decentralized systems. Taleb provides a framework for understanding Russia's invasion of Ukraine while contrasting it with the successful federal structure of the U.S. He emphasizes the virtues of local accountability and how smaller entities can promote better governance, drawing on historical and contemporary examples.
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Nation-State vs. Kingdom
- The nation-state concept is relatively modern, arising around 1780, with earlier entities being kingdoms.
- Nation-states, unlike empires, often curate a homogeneous identity, sometimes at the expense of tolerance.
Scale and Governance
- Smaller political units, like city-states, can be more harmonious than larger nation-states, reducing internal conflict.
- Empires, focused on taxes and defense, often exhibit more tolerance than nation-states obsessed with identity.
Phoenician Pragmatism
- Phoenicians historically prioritized commerce over land and paid tribute to empires rather than maintaining an army.
- This strategy allowed them to thrive after the Bronze Age collapse when larger states vanished.