by Jack Lee
According to a new book just released, America 3.0, the days of a strong centralized goverment that has a one size fits all mentality is doomed and a new decentralized system is in the making.
John B. Wells was joined by experts on society, history, and culture, James Bennett and Mike Lotus, who discussed how America is currently going through a painful transition period, but our best days may be yet to come. “The current crisis we are in is not the demise of America,” Lotus contended, suggesting that the present polarization of society is a pang experienced by the nation as it transforms into something new as the populace grapples with how to adjust to this evolution.
Driving the transformation of America, they argued, is the breakdown of our current system of government, particularly the “welfare state model,” which has shown to be unsustainable going into the future. Their idea is that states that are too large must be broken down into smaller states to bring government closer to the people and therefore more accountable and more responsive. The effeciency of smaller, more connected state governments will lead to cost savings while still keeping the federal model in place, using what works and tossing out what doesn’t. The pair solidly stand behind the idea of CA splitting into two states and possibly more. They see this as ineveitable if the people are ever going to regain proper representation. Many CA would agree, seeing our state as basically ungovernable in it’s present configuration.
While the authors were concerned about the increase in police militarization and government spying, they suggested that these trends are symptomatic of systemic failure which they see happening to the country. Bennett explained that as a political system breaks down, it sees diminishing returns from its usual practices which leads to people in power to “double down” on their tactics in an attempt to maintain the status quo.
Lotus dismissed the notion that the United States is not headed toward a “1930’s like Nazi takeover scenario,” since America has historically been resistant to totalitarian government or fascist political parties. Additionally, he surmised that transforming America into dictatorship would require “massive support” and could not be done via a small coup or executive order.
Ultimately, the duo predicted widespread positive changes for America that could come into effect within the next 30 years as the transition to ‘America 3.0’ blooms.
Lotus anticipates the end of a large, centralized federal government in favor of one which focuses on its “core functions,” such as defense and maintaining free trade throughout the country. Ensuring this promising future for America comes to fruition, Lotus stressed, requires “replacing the things that aren’t working, repairing the things that are worth saving and preparing ourselves for a better future.”