The small states of the mid-nineteenth century, with no fiscal transfers out of a relatively limited area, might be recreated. But the dynamic might go further: the German territories had around 350 independent political entities in the mid-eighteenth century, and more than 3,000 before the middle of the seventeenth century.
因此，开倒车不会简单地让欧洲回到20世纪中叶。19世纪中叶的小国——只在相对较小区域内实现转移支付——可能会卷土重来。但整个动态会走得更远：在18世纪中叶，今天德国领土上存在大约350个独立的政治实体，17世纪中叶则多达3000多个。当心德涅斯特河沿岸一语成谶。