# Energy, Connectivity, and Food Can Make Cities More Sovereign by Salim Ismail > "We are moving this century from the nation-state toward the city-state. That granulation allows a smaller entity to operate independently. If a city has solar energy, satellite internet, and vertical farming, it does not need a country in the same way; it can self-manage and self-determine to a large extent. The tension in the world today is not simply left versus right, but urban versus rural." > **— Salim Ismail**, *MOONSHOTS Live, September 25, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Recording and precise locator:** [18:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk7hdOwJj4&t=1081s) — MOONSHOTS Live, September 25, 2026. - **Exact reconciled source object:** “We are moving this century from the nation-state toward the city-state. That granulation allows a smaller entity to operate independently. If a city has solar energy, satellite internet, and vertical farming, it does not need a country in the same way; it can self-manage and self-determine to a large extent. The tension in the world today is not simply left versus right, but urban versus rural.” - **Editorial status:** The poster preserves the source-faithful object, including visible bracketed repairs and omissions where present. - **Reconciled source dossier:** [[research/Jensen Pushes Back on Doomers Moonshots Live|Jensen Pushes Back on Doomers Moonshots Live]] preserves transcript order, speaker attribution, editorial conventions, and the surrounding argument. - **Weekly promotion dossier:** [[research/Weekly Reminder Hunt - 2026-10-02|Weekly Reminder Hunt — October 2, 2026]] records why this object was selected for permanent promotion. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War|The Gigawatt Is the New Measure of War]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Salim Ismail|Salim Ismail]] - [[wiki/Public Utility AI|Public Utility AI]] - [[wiki/AI Distribution|AI Distribution]] - [[wiki/Super Intelligence Economy|Super Intelligence Economy]] ## Share on Social Media ``` "We are moving this century from the nation-state toward the city-state. That granulation allows a smaller entity to operate independently. If a city has solar energy, satellite internet, and vertical farming, it does not need a country in the same way; it can self-manage and self-determine to a large extent. The tension in the world today is not simply left versus right, but urban versus rural." — Salim Ismail, MOONSHOTS Live, September 25, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-ismail-energy-connectivity-food-can-make-cities-more ```