The United States

This chapter applies the ? model to the United States of America. By assuming that the US is a ‘world-system,' we can measure the economic efficiency of each state (and the District of Columbia). The model predicts an output floor based on the inputs of land and people as per-unit energy-equivalents. This expected output is then compared to the actual Gross State Product (GSP) as a per-unit energy-equivalent. States that are economically efficient register a positive residual, and hence a positive ? score. However, given potential measurement inaccuracies, states with low negative scores are also added to this efficient tier.

Morphogenesis

This chapter analyzes evolution to the end of furnishing a general theory of economic change. The analysis is applicable to both organisms and organizations. The general theory presented here is based on four analytical constructs: symmetry, scale, complexity, and collapse. Complexity is modeled as a force, similar to gravitation. Evolution is understood as a condition exhibiting an increase in morphological complexity. In the final analysis, economic change is linked to the structure of the political state. Pathologies of economic change, including morphostasis (in other words reaching a stage where growth and development are anemic due to the system's form and structure becoming static), necessitate a rethinking of political organization. Polycentricity and the principle of subsidiarity, with a praxis inspired by sovereign cities, are imperative for the continuous evolution of societies, and hence economies. In this future, nation-states become subsidiary. Sovereign cities replace nation-states on the ‘international' stage.

G-20 Countries

This chapter applies the ? model to the G-20 countries. The model suggests that the group is not homogenous. Some G-20 countries are economically efficient, while others are not. The jurisdictional footprints of these countries help explain the efficiency differences. The chapter introduces an evolutionary construct, the Red Queen Effect (RQE) to further explain the evolutionary stability of the world-system. The chapter also provides a brief analysis of the efficiency relativities of European countries.

The World

We will now look at the general results from the ? model (developed in Chapter II). The chapter examines the overlap between the world-systems theory classification of core and periphery countries and the ? model classification of sink (economically efficient) and source (economically inefficient) countries. Core countries exhibit not only economic complexity but also complex institutions. However, some of these countries, such as Australia and Canada, are not economically efficient, mainly due to their large footprint and low population density. On the other hand, some semi-periphery countries, such as South Korea and Turkey, are economically efficient according to the model.

Spinoza

This chapter argues that sovereignty, as envisaged by Spinoza, is the logical foundation for constituting polities in the 21st century. Constitutional constructs such as sovereignty weave an evolutionary dialectic between different organizational scales (the local, national, and global). This dialectic continues to wreak havoc at the local scale, and can be interrupted only through explicit constitutional constraints on the size of jurisdictions. The chapter argues for more emphasis on constitutional orders in the spirit of Spinoza's understanding of sovereignty. This entails preference for federal policies in which sovereignty is shared between different cities rather states where once capital cities dominate.

The Model

This chapter introduces the ? model, the analytical model used to investigate the economic efficiency of countries. The chapter provides an explanation of this model through the second law of thermodynamics, the concept of ‘complex energy,' and the principle of equipartition (from statistical mechanics). To eliminate the need for using energy units, and to enable the conversion between different input and outputs, the engineering concept of per-unit is also introduced.

The Political State

This chapter advocates for a paradigm shift. Its main critique problematizes the scale invariance that permeates economics (both orthodox and heterodox). Just like Newtonian gravitation, economics assumes that the relationships defining any given system, both internally and in relation to the environment, do not change when that system undergoes any dilation. In other words, no matter how large or small the system becomes, economics assumes that the laws governing its dynamics do not change. One example comes from using homogeneous production functions to ensure the scale invariance of growth models. In contrast, in physics, we know that there is a characteristic scale dictated by constants such as the speed of light or the Planck length. As objects reach that limit, the Newtonian model would no longer be valid. Economics due to its scale-invariance, furnishes public policy prescriptions that engender such scale distortions.