In the past week, I've been in South Africa and Canada, as well as the U.S., speaking and exchanging ideas with leaders.  It occurred to me that in all three nations, there is a romanticized notion of the role rural areas still play in their success. 

In the U.S., we've heard it echoed in the presidential campaign (small towns are where "real" Americans live and where real American values are uphold), even though cities and the metro areas they anchor produce 80 percent of the tax revenue to the nation and 80 percent of the GNP. 

In South Africa, as in all of the Africa, there are ambitious plans for rural development but no commensurate ambition for cities.  Yet, South Africans are voting with their feet, moving to cities in search of opportunity in the form of jobs, markets and education -- a trend national policies completely ignore.  And in Canada, the official attitude is hostility toward its cities, even though its cities drive its economy.

What's going on here?  Why don't these national governments wake up to the reality of these trends?  Wouldn't it make more sense to put your best thinking on the places producing most of your revenue?  Wouldn't it make sense to invest in ways that make these places more productive and better able to receive the people moving there?

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