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I said it's MAINLY DC and NYC. Boston and Philly add to that and gives it a hefty lift. Boston and Philly, are basically what SD is to CA. They add a huge Biomedical influence to the big boys(DC NYC), much like SD does to LA and SF.
I get what you're saying in the sense of Philadelphia and Boston playing a complimentary role behind NYC and DC...but comparing them to San Diego and its role to the California economy is way off even from a proportional sense. SD's CSA GDP makes up about 8.8% of California's GDP.
Comparatively, Boston/Philadelphia make up 28.4% of the Bos/NYC/DC/Philly grouping. If we include Princeton as a Philadelphia area school, 4 of the 6 best institutions educational are located in the Boston/Philly area. SD plays a complimentary role in the biomedical industry of California, with SF being the main player. Boston & Philadelphia are the kings of the Life Science industry in the country and maybe the planet.
So yes, Boston & Philadelphia's role is less than that of New York and Washington...but it's tough to consider them the "San Diego of the BosWash Megalopolis".
Trends start in California and travel east, as the popular saying goes.
Gay rights, animal rights, rise of American wine industry, immigrant rights, environmental movement, organic local food/sustainability movement, internet revolution 1.0 and 2.0. Almost every single important cultural movement has been started in the west. The NE is more powerful in terms of money. But the NE has only a fraction of starting the number of cultural movements that California has, within the past 30 years. In terms of actual influence, it's California by far. It's basically known for new ideas and innovation. NE is what the nation looks to for pragmatism and power, but not in terms of cultural revolution.
The NE has the seat of government in Washington (even though I think saying DC is a cop out argument considering it's a special district meant to represent the US as a whole) and the banking industry in NYC which are the two most important components of NE power. But these institutions are un-evolving constants.
NE for money and power, but California for influence. It has to do with the location. NE looks towards Europe, towards old money and it's history. California looks away from history. It looks towards asia, and central/south america, which are regions with ambition and hope and fast-rising on the world stage. It's just part of that mindset that focuses on what's new and what's next.
And there's also that little thing of California producing 80% of the country's total fruits and vegetables, which hasn't yet been mentioned. In other worlds, NYC sends California money to put a roof over their heads, and then California feeds them.
Trends start in California and travel east, as the popular saying goes.
Gay rights, animal rights, rise of American wine industry, immigrant rights, environmental movement, organic local food/sustainability movement, internet revolution 1.0 and 2.0. Almost every single important cultural movement has been started in the west. The NE is more powerful in terms of money. But the NE has only a fraction of starting the number of cultural movements that California has within the past 30 years. In terms of actual influence, it's California by far. It's basically known for new ideas and innovation. NE is what the nation looks to for pragmatism and power, but not in terms of cultural revolution.
The women's rights movement started in NY. It had and continues to have much more of a sweeping impact than any of the movements you listed.
Harlem Renaissance, the Ethical movement, Hip-hop culture, these have all spread across the world, not just our nation.
And money and power IS influence. In fact it can be argued that it's the ONLY influence that has any staying power.
The women's rights movement started in NY. It had and continues to have much more of a sweeping impact than any of the movements you listed.
Harlem Renaissance, the Ethical movement, Hip-hop culture, these have all spread across the world, not just our nation.
And money and power IS influence. In fact it can be argued that it's the ONLY influence that has any staying power.
Notice all of these movements are from the turn of the last century with the exception of hip hop culture? There is no denying NY's importance in American History. But we're talking about a time when California still had cowboys and a population of 1-2 million people. You could go back further when NYC was the seat of national government, or when California wasn't a state, but that would further defeat the intent of the conversation.
Money and power can HAVE influence, but it isn't influence in and of itself. That's a popular conceit with a validity that pertains to business and social ambition, not in terms of wide-range cultural movements which come not from the elite, but from the mainstream, subcultured and socially marginalized (women's right's), in other words, people without the money. In the end, it's organic and based on societal dynamics and not forced based on industry. Of course there are exceptions like silicon valley.
Notice all of these movements are from the turn of the last century with the exception of hip hop culture? There is no denying NY's importance in American History. But we're talking about a time when California still had cowboys and a population of 1-2 million people. You could go back further when NYC was the seat of national government, or when California wasn't a state, but that would further defeat the intent of the conversation.
Green/environmentalist movement didn't start in Cali either. It started in Europe and spread to San Fransisco via Sierra Club in late 19th century.
Same with Gay Rights. That didn't start in California either.
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