[wmorgan]

I suppose it's a matter of opinion. I would not have guessed that your list of US states governed “to spec” would include Idaho and Montana (weaker municipalities? Not sure), but not Massachusetts or Rhode Island (New England towns).

I'd only reiterate that if the question is whether there can be high-trust societies with a lot of local self-governance, that also have a lot of immigration, then Massachusetts proves that the answer is yes.

[rayiner]

Rhode Island is just a couple of spots below Montana on the list of places with the highest British ancestry. Massachusetts is a good example of how mass immigration can make a place very different: https://www.grunge.com/1199030/chilling-details-about-the-bo...