To what extent does the mostly single party state of California influence the world economy?
California is not a “mostly single party state” other than in the sense that any state with a current legislative majority party is.
The California Republican Party, sure, has done a horrible job keeping voters over the last decade, following the national party on its rightward march faster than voters on the state were willing to support. But they aren't systematic excluded by government in the manner of a single-party state, and while they are a weak minority in state government, much government in the state is done at the local level, and Republicans still dominate local government in substantial swathes of the state. And, unlike in a single-party state, there are no structural barriers to the state Republican Party becoming more competitive if it chooses to actually try, rather than hewing to the orthodoxy of a national party far out of line with California voters.
It's the Democrats (I was one, until recently) who have been moving left. There has been some reaction from the Republicans, but the majority of the shift has been on the left towards the left.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caQF4aCdQvE&t=817s
But they aren't systematic excluded by government in the manner of a single-party state
Yet. I'd seen some nutty Craiglist ads, where people refused to live with anyone who didn't support Bernie, including other Democrats. (For the record, I think he wasn't treated fairly by his party.) Maybe it's the circles I'd been running in, but people here in the Bay Area are quite something. I'd never felt more comfortable in groups of only Asians until I moved here. This sort of toxic denigration and talking over me, like I'm a foolish creature from a Dr. Doolitle movie -- I'd only seen it from right-leaning bigots in Ohio or South Carolina. First time in my life, I've gotten it from the left.
Best that I can tell, there are a lot of people here who think it would be perfectly ok to mistreat wholesale groups of people who are more or less ordinary citizens, ordinary Republicans. There are a lot of people here who would enthusiastically denigrate innocent people, not because they necessarily disagree, but just because they'd ask certain questions. The saddest thing about it, is that such behavior comes from what I used to think was my own "tribe." I see too many attitudes that are not befitting for truth seekers, lovers of knowledge, and Liberal attitudes towards discourse and civic life.
It seems to extend down to ridiculously small polities, eg. there are people in the local Peace Corps alumni association (membership ~100) that call it an oppressive authoritarian regime, and I've worked at a startup with 18 employees that some of my coworkers called an oppressive authoritarian regime.
Sure. "Not too bad, but showing disturbing trends." Right now, we're at the stage where the police give certain people extra attention, and attitudes are brewing in the majority society.
I agree with your general point, but I should mention that the Bay Area political climate is pretty sympathetic to government employee unions, such as those that represent TSA workers.
I have a friend who lives up north in the Sierras (who actually won an award for her work in social justice) who can't go to certain bars in her town, because someone might knife her over political disagreements.
There is some unrest, oppression of the less powerful, and under-representation here in California. It's much better here than in many parts of the world, but it's there. Some of it is due to the lop-sided nature of politics here.
I'm pretty sure you can say that about most states. Either you have a blue state with a rural population that feels oppressed, or a red state with an urban population that feels oppressed, or pockets of people identifying with the less dominant party within both urban or rural areas.
It doesn't fit neatly into 21st century American domestic political discourse (with emphasis since 2000 on red states vs. blue states), but we're really more interspersed than we believe, at varying proportions.
I have a sense that California is singularly skewed in this way, however. I've seen a rural lawyer in California advise people to basically hide their cultural identity while driving.
It doesn't fit neatly into 21st century American domestic political discourse (with emphasis since 2000 on red states vs. blue states), but we're really more interspersed than we believe, at varying proportions.
The time to worry is when you have scapegoating of certain minorities expressed in law and government behavior. The time to worry, is then the authorities have decided it's now alright to trample on the rights of a subset of its own citizens, regardless of their innocence.
Genuinely curious what one would do to hide or advertise their cultural identity while driving? Bumper stickers and flags?
Those were two of the things that were mentioned.