Decentralisation and its discontents

by Ondine Green I think that one part of Vaughan Gunson's excellent article "A People's Constitution for Aotearoa?" deserves more looking at. That would be Vaughan's opposition of centralisation (bad) to decentralisation (good). Vaughan writes that his idea of a constitutional alternative for Aotearoa entails:

a state where sovereignty is devolved downwards to the people, to local communities, including indigenous people.

Certainly a new constitution has to be based on people power, on empowerment of the grassroots rather than an authority on high in Wellington (or Washington for that matter) doling out favours and punishment. Is centralised power altogether a bad thing?

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