What does it mean being a commonwealth state?

Nowadays, a commonwealth has come to mean any government in which all people involved have a say, or a loose formation of nations with a shared loyalty. It is also the official designation of a few states including, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia and some U.S. territories.

The distinction is in name alone. The commonwealths are just like any other state in their politics and laws, and there is no difference in their relationship to the nation as a whole. When used to refer to U.S. states, there is no difference between a 'state' and a 'commonwealth'. The distinction is in name alone.

While similar, a "commonwealth" has a slightly more developed relationship to the U.S. than a "territory" does. Unlike the 50 states, U.S. territories do not have the same representation in Congress and do not have the same rights as states.

Pennsylvania was designated as a commonwealth as early as 1776, when it formed its own state -- I mean commonwealth -- constitution. That means we were a commonwealth before we were part of the United States, and indeed before there was even a United States to be part of.

Legally, Massachusetts is a commonwealth because the term is contained in the Constitution. In the era leading to 1780, a popular term for a whole body of people constituting a nation or state (also known as the body politic) was the word "Commonwealth." This term was the preferred usage of some political writers.

Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Kentucky are all commonwealths. So what makes them different from the rest of the 50 states? Literally nothing. They are commonwealths simply because their state constitutions say they're commonwealths.

The reason these states are called commonwealths is because when their constitutions were drafted, they referred to themselves as such. 17th century political philosophers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke used the term to represent an organized political community. What about Puerto Rico?

People have to pay taxes to support a commonwealth. This is why so many things are taxed within a commonwealth. Sales taxes, business taxes, property taxes, and personal taxes are needed to maintain the commonwealth.

The member states' heads of government make up the primary decision-making component of the Commonwealth. The Head of the Commonwealth, a title historically belonging to the British Crown, is largely ceremonial. Succession to the post is non-hereditary and is determined by the Heads of Government.

One of the problems of the Commonwealth is that when member states refuse to comply with decisions arrived at during a summit, the organization does not have the power to enforce it. In the absence of this power to enforce, the organization rather depends on the commitment and willingness of the members to comply.

Queen Elizabeth II

The US doesn't qualify to join the Commonwealth it is country freed itself by revolt, i.e., without the blessing of the king. The US doesn't do monarchies, even constitutional ones. The Treaty of London, 28 April 1949, created the current Commonwealth of Nations and recognized King George VI as the head.

One of the reasons why the US has not already joined the Commonwealth may have to do with how the US gained its independence from the British during colonial times. The US had an extremely brutal war with the UK.

From the other side, Mozambique was long considered a "cousin" country to the Commonwealth for its trade ties and support of anti-apartheid efforts. They even drive on the left :). Since the Commonwealth does not have an "observer" status, making Mozambique a full member came under discussion.

On the other hand, Burma (1948) and Israel (1948) did not join the Commonwealth, as they chose to become republics.

one of the poorest countries in the world, Mozambique has a population of 30.37 million people (about the population of Texas) with the majority still living in poor conditions extreme poverty due to the inequalities in between the south and north regions of Mozambique.

South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world with Gini index at 63 in 2014/15. Inequality is high, persistent, and has increased since 1994. High levels of income polarization are manifested in very high levels of chronic poverty, a few high-income earners and a relatively small middle class.

Armando Guebuza is one of the wealthiest individuals in Mozambique, which according to Marcelo Mosse has earned the president the nickname Mr Gue-Business: He is a shareholder of Laurentina, Mozambique's second largest brewery, and one of the main shareholders in the Banco Mercantil de Investimentos.