One of the goals of this site is the creation of a political region called "Cascadia" which will form part of a United
North America (UNA) composed of what is now Canada and the United States.
As the globe shrinks the value of the emergence of polities loosely based on the "Nine Nations of America" will become
clearer and the common values within Cascadia and a United North America will become more apparent.
Cascadia would be formed from present day Alaska, the Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington State, Idaho, Montana,
and Oregon. It might also include Northern California.
Surprising to some there is already a good deal of cooperation going on
between these states and provinces for the simple reason that they share the common problems and have opportunities they can pursue jointly. In addition, these states
and provinces find that by tackling issues together they can better catch the ear of Federal political structures in the East that have "hearing problems".
This comes at a time countries like China and India are rapidly modernizing. They have billion plus internal markets
and burgeoning intellectual resources. It is a time when Europeans have awoken to
the fact that their nation states are too small to be successful economically and geo-politically in a world
of a billion plus countries. It is a time when Europe
is pulling down national barriers to the free flow of people, goods and commerce
and creating common processes of governance. It comes at a time when some British Columbians and
Albertans wonder whether Canada can ever be fixed and have concluded that it cannot. It is too small
and its constitution is ossified.
Political energies in B.C. and Alberta therefore are better spent regionally and concerting with
regional partners to achieve Pacific North West goals within the two existing nation states - that will become one. It may also take the preliminary
form of the unification of two or more provinces or states. Once the ball started rolling the political momentum would continue.
What we have is two Federal governments on the continent that do not effectively plan and budget "for
the continent" or for its regions. There is no vision for the continent and hence no effective strategic planning.
What kind of North America do we want in even 2025? Little or no thought is being put into this in our legislatures
or by respective "elites". We need to ask the question: What institutions do we need to have in place
to make North America work better in the mid 21st Century? We need a Longe Range Plan.
What sort of timetable can one expect for a United North America (UNA) and a fully formed Cascadia?
Some will shout NEVER!
The history of the unification of countries in Europe with common languages suggests that
continental governance can be created in relatively short periods when viewed
from a historical perspective. The European Community has developed in a period of just over 50 years.
If you accept however that global change is occurring not at linear rates but at exponential
rates then developments could occur in a much shorter timeframe. The world is entering a
period of discontinuous change. Over the next 50 years, artificial intelligence and robotics, climate
change, energy re-sourcing and a revolution in medical affairs is going radically reshape the world.
Africa and Latin America are firmly on the path to economic development and will no longer be nearly
so "have-not".
The fall of the Soviet Union, the rise of China and India
suggests that even the most hardened and rightous nationalist must take care when
considering the technological, the economic and cultural forces at play.
Will Africa and Latin America unite? Absolutely!
Only the timeframes will be longer. Fluid, real-time, inexpensive spoken computer language translation
is going to accelerate mind-state shifts in the decades ahead.
A quick look at the integrative
forces at play in the world suggests that the world of the future is going to bear little
resemblance to what it was in the past.
So when the future is under discussion an "open mind" is the best policy. Global integration is
accelerating. We are increasingly living in "One World". What can be said with certainty is
that the future will be surprising.
"Leadership, it's been said, has two essential ingredients: first, it's about going somewhere;
second, it's about being able to persuade other people to share in the journey."
CascadiaPrime has a number of themes:
Regional and Continental Cooperation - there are too many governments and too much government - they need to be rethought. Most North American governments were created when the railways were new and primary transport was a horse. They make no sense.
Good Macroeconomic Management - including sound fiscal policies, policies that help to reduce public sector debt levels relative to the size of the economy. This will help cushion against shocks on the horizon and ensure that the generation to follow is not saddled with debt and taxation created by those that have gone before. Monetary policy focussed on keeping core inflation low and encouraging saving and hard work.
Forward Thinking - understanding what the macro trends are and charting public, private and personal strategies to build toward a better and more sustainable future.
Creative Destruction - Helping old ideas that have out-lived their usefulness to pass from the scene. Badly run businesses go out of business. Constitutionally and legislatively defined regions can go on long after they become uneconomic and ineffective.
Spiritual Growth - acknowledging the limits to materialism. Man does not live by bread alone. Cascadia has a natural beauty that lends itself to spiritual growth.
Sustainability - Cascadia is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Its natural systems need to be protected and sustained as does the planet as a whole.
Strategic Power - energy self-sufficiency, material and food self-sufficiency, soft power and hard power, health system resilience, global reach, technological leadership, transportation efficiencies and effectiveness, political and bureaucratic cohesion.
Long Range Planning - in times of revolutionary change, incrementalism and failure to link budgets to a vision is a recipe for failure.
This website was created initially for my own use. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful. Share it with your friends. My background "informs" the content and focus of CascadiaPrime.
Live long and prosper.
Patrick Muncaster