The United States is a Prison for States. Different States, Different Opportunities

The book offers a bold and provocative interpretation of the American federation: the United States simultaneously restrains and liberates its constituent parts.

Rhetorically the union promises unity and equality, but in practice federal institutions, economic mechanisms, and political norms impose constraints that sometimes act like a prison for individual states.

At the same time different states become fields for experimentation and opportunities to implement alternative models of…