[William McKinley]

Is liberty compatible with cities?

[ellery]

Interesting question. I don't pretend to know the answer...but I will say from my personal experience that in some ways I feel more free living in my mid-sized city than I did growing up in a very small town. The relative lack of interest my neighbors take in my (benign) activities is tremendously refreshing. That said, there are also more laws here in urban-ville (e.g., emissions inspections, zoning, building permits)...so I guess it's a trade-off.

[sam_paine]

Is liberty compatible with cities?

Only to the extent that governance remains localized. As long as the Federal government forces a sea-to-sea monoculture, liberty is under assault in the cities or the country.

Maybe Cities should evolve into city-states in a Republic as their localized population exceeds the rest of the state?

Why should the preponderance of New York City wag the senators representing upstate?

The thinking was that the House would effectively represent the population...but since states are no longer viably able to secede, then representation of the States on their historical boundaries seems arbitrary.