Swing State Project

Now, the Atlantic Monthly is following suit:

WASHINGTON — IRVING KRISTOL snubbed New York when he left for Washington in 1988, pronouncing Manhattan no longer the "nation's intellectual center" as he packed off his ideological enterprise.

The Atlantic Monthly does not have as lofty a motive for moving to Washington in the months ahead. David Bradley, the owner of the venerable magazine, said the recent decision to move and consolidate his publishing enterprises in Washington was driven by economics, not symbolism or a desire for cachet.

But the news has given some readers, writers and thinkers - not to mention Bostonians - a familiar pang of anxiety, a reminder that even in the democratic Internet age, all cultural capitals are not created equal. [...]

However far the geographic divides have been bridged, certain places are doing better than others. The interplay between personal contact and ideas still matters, at least somewhat.

And while three East Coast cities have jockeyed for prominence, a perceptible southward tilt is continuing, as Boston has evolved from its liberal arts and political origins, and Washington has, in a sense, matured. Intellectuals still reside in Boston, New York and Washington (and hop the shuttle easily among the three), but in a highly charged political environment, there has been a move away from academic ideas toward ones generated in the real world, or at least real government. And if not that, then in think tanks.

Of course, some of you be thinking that the Atlantic Monthly's move to DC had nothing to do with Swing State Project. And the more cynical of you might be thinking that David's move to DC had less do with a trend towards geographic concentration of ideas and more to do with his choice of law schools. And you might be right.

But all kidding aside, I think Swing State Project does benefit from geography, at least when it comes to our bi-coastal distribution and the resulting time zone advantage.

I also believe there is a right place for each time. I felt certain that I was at the center of it all during San Francisco's dotcom boom. But those days have passed.

So is Washington, D.C. the new best place to be? Or are telecommuters like David Sirota on to something when they ditch D.C. and move to Montana?