The Diffusion of Innovations among the American States

By: Jack L. Walker

“Given the results of this correlational analysis, we might conclude that New York, California and Michigan adopt new programs more rapidly than Mississippi, Wyoming and South Dakota primarily because they are bigger, richer, more urban, more industrial, have more fluidity and turnover in their political systems, and have legislatures which more adequately represents their cities.” 

This passage is explaining how these cities like New York, California and Michigan adapt to more of a variable programs and laws because of the size and population of the people in those cities. There is more money invested in these cities and that attracts more people from all over the world to go there. Since these cities have so many different types of people with different beliefs living there, they are more open to change than in other places like Wyoming and South Dakota. In the Political systems we see different types of senators running for offices and that gives these larger cities an opportunity to always have someone and something different in the office. Smaller cities usually pick the same format of people to run for office. That is a disadvantage for them because they would not consider change, even if it’s for the better.

I picked this passage because I find it very interesting that New York since it is a bigger, richer, more urban and more industrial city, it don’t always consider change like California. California has legalized Gay marriage and marijuana like most other sates but New York has only legalized Gay marriage by state legislature. Another interesting factor is that Michigan in 2012 has legalized Marijuana but not Gay marriage. It seems like these big cities that are subject to change only change to a certain degree.