<i>wouldn&#x27;t it be interesting if you could actually see which group does better after a century on their own</i><p>It very much would be.  This is another argument for federalism&#x2F;secessionism: a laboratory of governments&#x2F;social structures will provide better feedback as to what works and what does not for various populations.<p>I think it is also worth bearing in mind that &quot;does better&quot; is inherently subjective, since value is subjective.  Some political units may be fine trading GDP for a better environment, while others may be fine trading sexual freedom for stability.  The irreconcilability of values&#x2F;moral axioms dictates that we either agree to allow sufficiently differentiated groups to develop their own political units, or we impose our axioms on them (or they, us.)