Secession in the News

This story also mentions the libertarian Free State project, for whom secession is not a goal.

Individuals in a State are kind of like prisoners in a prison camp. There are four things to work for, each of them worthwhile in their own way:

1. Escape (secession)
2. Take over and dismantle (electoral victory)
3. Negotiate for more liberty and less abusive conditions (work issue by issue for repeal of laws and taxes)
4. Make the best of the situation while maintaining your integrity and living as free as you can. (You may have to depend on the State for some things right now, but don't lobby for entitlements or economic protections, or do anything that you know will hurt somebody else)

Each one is a worthwhile pursuit, and I am one to endorse each route. Whether or not any state secedes in the near future, the fact is that we need this kind of activism and scholarship as another means to change minds and hold the government to account. Meanwhile, we do need pro-liberty candidates elected to office. But until that happens, we need to work with both sides of the aisle to make common-sense changes that can do real good in the present. And we must embrace the virtues and values we hold and would like to see in a free society, demonstrating them in our own lives whatever our circumstances may be.

So I'm glad to see secession movements, which is not the same as saying that everyone's energies must be directed to that. Activism should follow the natural division of labor - do what suits you best.