Charter cities make sense in Europe

According to LessWrong, charter cities—special economic zones with independent governance—have successfully transformed places like Shenzhen and Singapore. But they struggle in unstable countries when governments simply cancel them. The author argues Europe is actually ideal: it has stable governments but stagnant economies. His proposal: the European Commission establishes a charter cities program allowing member states to create autonomous zones exempt from national tax codes. These Free Cities would attract investment and talent while experimenting with new governance models—Europe's return to medieval city-states.

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