ABSTRACT
The state flag proclaims the “California Republic,” and in some ways California is more like a nation than a state. California has long been a source of ideas, policies, and institutions that pop up elsewhere, as trends radiate from the state’s constantly changing politics. Direct democracy has been a major source of these trends. The scale of California’s economy is matched by its diversity, a source of strength even in times of recession. As one or sometimes more components of the state’s economy decline, others remain stable or even surge. The economic diversity of California is often a source of political conflict as workers struggle with business over health insurance, farmers fight urban developers for water, old businesses pay lower taxes than new ones, government regulations drive businesses to other states, and cheap labor draws employers to other countries.
