ABSTRACT
One of the distinctive features of the city as a mode of order and domination is that it is not governed from a single centre. The principle of sovereignty does not work effectively within the civic domain. Although the world functions as a single city, it is not a “global village,” as Marshall McLuhan once suggested. It lacks the fixity, community, and intimacy that is part of the image of the village. In fact, the global city is inherently complex, dynamic, and socially differentiated. A self-governing city would have the power to regulate its own economy and determine its own foreign trade policy. It would have to control the flow of arms in and out of its domain, and break the power of the armed gangs that defy its authority. Even to deal with questions of public health, it would have to project its authority far beyond its immediate boundaries.
