Principalities

[David Kuijt <kuijt@umiacs.UMD.EDU>]

Greetings to Cheapside!

Richard and I have been talking, and I thought that some of this
might be of general philosophical interest to a broader audience,
so I've jumped you all in in the middle.


Richard said:
>Hypothesis: The insertion of lines between groups creates cultural 
>barriers and reduces interaction.

Sure.  I agree completely.  So the question is, when is this a good
thing and when is this a bad thing?  You cannot support that it is
ALWAYS a bad thing--the lines between Atlantia and Meridies, or 
the East, seem to be a good thing.  And I'm not willing to hear the
argument that "all the lines as they exist are good, any new ones
will be bad"--whether or not that might be true, it is a religious
declaration (incapable of analysis or proof) and therefore not
subject to debate.

There are clearly situations where the creation of borders (Principality
or Kingdom) is, in the long term, a good thing.  If we can form a
characterization of situations where it might be good, and when it
might be bad, we may then be able to see more clearly whether our
current situation fits any of the criteria.

Dafydd