Re:They call it Canaan: How 200K Haitians built a city on th...
by dinkumthinkum on Sunday May 21, 2017 @04:48PM
(#14389178)
You seem to be caught up on the idea that they are being "praised." Did you read the whole article. I think you went into with this preconceived notion that is something that it isn't. Also, it is true that cities started perhaps in a way that you describe but very rarely has something like on this on this scale occurred in recent history. There's also different reasons that Western frontiersmen. Anyway, I think it is an interesting update on rather unusual situation, I mean over 200,000 people, that's tremendous; also potential for opportunity.
Re:They call it Canaan: How 200K Haitians built a city on th...
by afarrell on Sunday May 21, 2017 @04:52PM
(#14389196)
Weren't many cities formed around forts of a large government? Off the top of my head, I can think of London being founded by the Romans.
But maybe thats actually wrong and there was a settlement on the Thames that the Romans rode roughshod over the memory of.
It's quite obvious which part is the egg and which the chicken.
People are drawn to areas for a variety of reasons. A more localized government is merely a rational reaction to the needs of a large community, a form of organization after the fact (or merely a result of following established standards and practices, rather than rational need).
What is distinct in this story seems to be the absence of government following the initial growth phase. Maybe due to a lack of stable functioning economic systems which incentivize the organization of municipal governments.
But the cities and infrastructure which we live in are very much the result of people who were initially just 'doing it on their own' before formalizing systems of organization. I know it's trendy to dismiss pioneers and frontiersmen who built western society but this seems like praising a step backwards.