Frequently Asked Questions
The
Free State Project is a
movement to relocate 20,000 libertarian (smaller-government) activists
to
the state of New Hampshire. Much more information can be found at
the
Free State Project Website.
The project was started by Dr. Jason Sorens, a political science
lecturer at Yale. Dr. Sorens concluded that libertarians are too
far outnumbered to have significant effect in the United States.
However, if many libertarians were to move to a single, relatively low
population state, they may be able to have significant influence.
The Free State Project is designed to accomplish that goal.
What is a libertarian?
A libertarian (small-l) is a person who generally believes in
maximizing individual liberty and minimizing government. The
Libertarian Party is a political party
that is founded on
libertarian
principles. The Free State Project is not formally associated
with the
Libertarian Party. There are libertarians who are members of many
different political parties. There are other libertarian
organizations that are not associated with the Libertarian Party and/or
any other political party, as well as other parties that are
significantly libertarian or have libertarian caucuses (i.e. the
Republican Liberty Caucus and the
Democratic Freedom Caucus).
To find out if you're a libertarian, take the
World's Smallest
Political Quiz. For more information about libertarianism,
visit
the
Advocates for Self-Government.
How and why did the Free State Project choose New
Hampshire?
The first 5,000 people who joined the Free State Project were given the
opportunity to vote on the destination state. There were 10
candidate states and they were voted on in mid-2003.
The
results
were announced on October 1, 2003 in New York City.
New Hampshire was chosen because the voters
thought it was the first best state for the Free State Project to call
home. The reasons each person voted for New Hampshire above every
other state would vary from person to person. There was a paper
called "
101
Reasons to Choose New Hampshire" developed and distributed
before the vote that was likely influential. Many of those
reasons are unique to New Hampshire and make it ideal for this
project. Read the 101 Reasons paper to learn what those reasons
are.
Isn't there some other way?
Maybe. Maybe someday a majority of Americans will suddenly change
their views and decide they prefer liberty to more-big-government and
are ready to do something about it. However, I believe that's
unlikely to happen in the near future. We could continue working
with limited success as we do today. Or we could give up and
escape (i.e. move out of the country, or live in isolation
somewhere). Or, we could participate in the only plan I'm aware
of which
offers any realistic hope of success in the foreseeable future.
Prior to hearing about the Free State Project, we were
seriously considering moving outside the United States. We
thought the demand for freedom in America was too low to see any kind
of success anytime soon. However, if we concentrate our efforts,
maybe we can restore something resembling liberty in New
Hampshire. We hope that will inspire the rest of the nation to do
likewise.
Do you really think such a small number of people
can influence a
whole state?
Yes! In 2002 I wrote an
article
about the ratios between
activists, voters, and population. A small number of
committed
activists can influence a whole state. This has happened in the
past with the Mormon migration to Utah and the 'hippie' liberal
migration to Vermont. We hope it will happen with the libertarian
migration to New Hampshire, too.
Is this some kind of cult? Are you going to
live in a
commune?
No, this isn't a cult and we're not going to live in a commune.
We live on a residential street in a suburban area of a small
town. It is the same kind of environment we've lived in for all
of our adult lives.
The plan is simply to persuade libertarians to relocate to New
Hampshire. Beyond that, there's no Free State Project determined
plan for action. We libertarians will have to figure out how to
work together to increase liberty. There are some people who may
wish to do that by developing a commune of sorts, but that's not our
style, nor is the style of the majority of FSP Participants. This
project is generally inhabited with people who engage the community and
mix in with the culture.
What can I do to help?
There are lots of things you can do to help. Here's a sequence of
events that I would recommend:
1:
Become
a Christian. Though the Free State Project is not
a Christian project and strongly favors freedom of religion, I believe
lasting liberty is impossible without a significantly Christian (Godly)
culture. Furthermore, though it's possible to comprehend liberty
in the absence of a belief in God, some of the most important reasons
to sustain it are missing. Though I strongly recommend this as
the first step, some committed atheists (and other non-Christians) will
skip this step.
2:
Become
a libertarian. Learn about, understand, and agree that
freedom is the better
alternative. Becoming a libertarian is, in a sense, an essential
step in supporting and helping. Though it's possible to help
without agreeing with libertarian ideas (at least some of them),
there's only one motive I can find for doing so: getting
libertarians away from you (and to New Hampshire). If that's your
motive, fine. Otherwise, this step is fairly essential if you
want to help.
3:
Contribute
your time, talent, and treasure to helping the FSP
(and other liberty promoting projects) succeed. Because there are
too few liberty lovers left in America, the FSP is a sensible plan for
concentrating and coordinating our efforts. It would be foolish
for anyone who truly loves liberty to work against the FSP or any
reasonable liberty promoting project. I've heard lots of excuses
but none of them seem rational to me.
4:
Agree
to participate in the Free State Project. Though
moving is a big step, it's not as big as it sounds. When the
Pilgrims arrived in America, moving here from Europe was a big
deal. People died, communication was difficult at best (letters
might arrive... ever), and the standard of living was very low.
In contrast, the standard of living in New Hampshire is very high,
virtually nobody in New Hampshire dies of starvation or lack of health
care, and the Internet, telephones, airplanes and cars make
communication and travel very inexpensive and efficient. Indeed,
not only is a move to New Hampshire a very small sacrifice, it's really
a benefit in the long run. Oh, and they make heaters there now,
too!
If you're not sure about New Hampshire or the Free State Project, come
see the
Porcupine
Freedom Festival. The
2004
Festival was
attended by about 300 Porcupines and visitors. The 2005 Festival
is shaping up to be even bigger and better. Lots of people will
be there to check out the state and its people (including other FSP
Participants). The very best way to see if this is for you is to
come take a closer look first hand. The 2005 Festival will be in
late July.
