In the previous post, the case for the the end of nations was spelled out. It is the way of nature and society that all things must atrophy. It is also a law that there will always be a new leader and that old must give way to the strong. Just as the age of Empires gave way to Nations, so too will Nations give way to the Metropolis. History has also shown that leadership is concentrated within geographical locations. It began with Africa, then spread to the middle east and the Mediterranean (East Asia developed on its own because at that time it was isolated from the rest of the world), it moved to the western european empires and further west to United States. Now it looks to Asia. The Rise of Metropolises will be the first key trend in the Age of Asia.
Major cities are usually large, well connected and have the support of a large economy. In most cases, they are where activities are knowledge based and knowledge creating. Small cities tend to house activities that are skill based and knowledge processing. Major cities, can take advantage of their ready-made connectivity to increase their city branding and marketing throughout the world. Growing cities, with huge financial resources – though few and far between – present equally stimulating opportunities because they represent blank canvasses whose direction is to be shaped.
But being a large city is not enough, there has to be a colour-blind meritocracy in the people. Just like Egypt of the Fatimid Caliphate, that practiced meritocracy over race, religion and bloodline a modern major city must not judge limit opportunities by any sort of boundary except ability. Most nations today preach about equality of opportunity; it is one thing to say it, and another to act on it. Only when there is the promise that ability will be paid handsomely will the Leonardo’s of our time be convinced to move.
A city must also have the good fortune to be situated in the right region. The cities and hinterland around it must also be thriving and developing regions. Auckland may be a wonderful city to live in, but as a major world city and a competitive metropolis, its relatively extended distance from a thriving region means that its own development is stifled.
A meritocratic society and a major city, in a thriving region are essential, but even more fundamental is the intellectual freedom. Major cities both of the past and the present are cradles for major ideas and it is these ideas that make the wheels of the world spin. Think of democracy in Athens, modern economics in Edinburgh, human rights discourses in Madrid, equality and republicanism in Paris, the stock exchange in Amsterdam etc. Intellectual freedom does not mean lifting controls over society and the onset of chaos, it does not equate to societal instability. Rather, it means that competing ideas are accepted and allowed to grow into their own. These ideas can be artistic, economic, political, social etc. The government may support ideas and plans, just like the Medici’s in Florence, Frangipane and Pierleoni in Rome and the Sforza’s in Milan but they cannot decide blankly on everything. Intellectual freedom is a two way system, just as Christopher Columbus supplied his idea to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabelle, the whole populace should be involved in organic intellectual development.
This trend could be most closely associated with the metropolises of antiquity, such as ancient Athens, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria and Jerusalem. Other examples include Angkor Wat, Nanjing and Machu Pichu. These where the live forces of their various societies, they were huge agglomerations of religious, political, social, economic and military importance. Evidently as in any group, starting at uneven points, there will emerge leading metropolises and a chasing pack. Metropolises come and go and the world cities of this day would first be London, Tokyo and New York. Among the closest of the chasing pack of major cities would be Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Beijing etc…
What can be observed is that the cities within the chasing pack belong almost exclusively within Asia. This is to be expected, considering that this is where the core of economic activity will be concentrated. And with economic activity comes the exchange of key ideas and peoples that allow for a city to become globally influential. Just as the Italian States of Florence and Rome competed for talent, and drew the geniuses of the medieval world to their cities, so too the battle will be increasingly direct in this coming age. The war for talent will be less bloody and passionate, but no less competitive.
The ingredients have not changed from ancient times, merely the places. The easterly winds have blown fortune in the Asian direction. However, while the Asian nations can be said to hold most of the prerequisites to be global leaders, intellectual freedom is still the purview of the West.
