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Reimagining the American Union

Document Type

Book

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2025

Abstract

This book is a thought experiment. It invites you to imagine an America without state government. The hypothesis it tests is that, all things considered, the national interest of the United States would be better served by a two-layer (national and local government) unitary system than by the current three-layer (national, state, and local) federation. In that hypothetical system, the functions currently performed by state government would be redistributed among the national government, the local governments, and various inter-government partnerships. The country would cease to be a union of states. It would become a union of its people.

This exercise – one that the scholarly literature has not yet undertaken – requires a careful, objective weighing of both the benefits and the costs of state government in the United States. That evaluation encompasses, but goes beyond, the traditional debates over federalism. The question considered here is not merely whether the US can do without federalism, but whether it can do without state government entirely. Those are different inquiries. While it is impossible to have federalism without political subdivisions, it is very possible to have political subdivisions without federalism. Indeed, unitary systems in which the subunits are mere subordinates of the central government are commonplace in today’s world. In such a unitary system, it seems fair to ask how many levels of subordinate units are optimal. This book suggests that for the United States, the answer is one – local government.

Keywords

American Constitution, Political Structure, State and Local Government

Publication Citation

Stephen H. Legomsky, Reimagining the American Union (2025)

Comments

An interview with Prof. Legomsky is available at the Conversation.

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