The latter type of state is, of course, silly. But it's not like there's all that many of them. The former kind may or may not be silly in and of themselves. What's a little weird in my book is to expect a state - any state - to survive indefinitely with its borders, international commitments or indeed sovereignty intact. European history since the invention of the railroad has been one of smaller states surrendering their sovereignty (or having it forcibly removed) to integrate into larger economic and political blocs.
- Jake If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.
