Re: Optimal location of world capital

In message <fqcaph$pi2$3@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>, Matthias Warkus 
<Warkus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> writes
>DJensen schrieb:
>> On Mar 1, 8:32 am, Matthias Warkus <War...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>> wrote:
>>> DJensen schrieb:
>>>
>>>> But I really see no need for a fixed physical location, particularly
>>>> not one meant to represent the will of billions. So why not a virtual
>>>> or ad hoc capital?
>>> I'd wager that a "virtual capital" would work about as well as the
>>> paperless office or massive telecommuting, i.e. not at all.
>>  I'm not convinced of that, particularly if we were to get rid of
>> representation and use a direct system of some sort. Don't look at
>> real world systems being augmented by technology; look at how virtual
>> systems are accessed in the real world. For example, YouTube. It seems
>> to function without requiring people mail in their videos, or queue up
>> at certain times of day to watch, and doesn't take weeks or months off
>> at a time or close its doors at 4pm or for the weekend.
>>  Why couldn't a democracy, with constituents in every time zone,
>> function more like that and less like your local bank or court house?
>
>Well, you made the proposal. It's up to you to explain how it's 
>supposed to work, while I'll be trying to shoot it down.
>
>>> What do you
>>> mean by "ad hoc capital"?
>>  When and where needed, any suitable location could be designated the
>> capital. When parliament is dissolved, the 'capital' dissolves with
>> it. And the various parts of government don't need to be in the same
>> city at the same time.
>
>Sounds expensive and inefficient.

The European Parliament regularly moves between two locations, Brussels 
and Strasbourg, it is expensive inefficient and disrupts the business of 
parliament every time it moves. And this is with two purpose built 
parliament buildings and a long practised transfer. An ad hoc 
arrangement would be worse.

A capital needs considerable infrastructure as quite a few things need 
to be close together. Such as the Parliament buildings, the 
accommodation of the members and their ancillary staff, their office 
space, the cabinet offices and their sup****t staff, the head offices of 
the various ministries, the offices of lobbying organisations &c. If you 
move the capital you have to have all of these at each location and go 
through the disruption of moving quite a lot of stuff, this works out 
expensive.
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