The Free State Project ( FSP ; Eng. Project "Free State" [1] ) is a project of American libertarians to relocate to New Hampshire and build a free society there [1] , the "bastion of libertarianism" [2] .
| Free state project | |
|---|---|
| Liberty in Our Lifetime | |
| Membership | 11,000+ |
| Administrative center | New Hampshire , USA |
| Official language | English |
| Executives | |
| the president | Carla Gericke |
| Base | |
| Established | September 1, 2001 |
| freestateproject.org | |
Founded in 2001, New Hampshire was selected in 2003. By June 2011, more than 1000 participants moved there [3] , and 11,750 people agreed with the declaration of intent of the project [4] .
Content
- 1 Goals and objectives
- 1.1 Declaration of Intent
- 2 History
- 3 Current activities
- 3.1 Participation in the project
- 3.2 Annual events
- 4 reviews
- 5 See also
- 6 notes
- 7 References
Goals and objectives
A 2005 FSP statement said:
| The Free State Project is a plan to attract 20,000 activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will direct all practical efforts to create a society in which the role of the state is limited to protecting life, liberty and property. The success of the project is likely to entail a reduction in taxation and regulation, reform at all levels of government in order to expand the rights and freedoms of the market, as well as the restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of freedom in the rest of the nation and the world. [5] |
The slogan “Life, freedom and property” is similar to the slogan “ Life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness ” from the American declaration of the First Continental Congress of 1774 [6] .
The project aims to overcome the historical inefficiency of minarchism caused by the low density of activists in the area of fifty states of the United States and the world as a whole.
The goal of the Free State Project is to gather as many libertarians in New Hampshire as possible without involving them in any political process [7] .
Declaration of Intent
To become a member of the Free State Project, a person must agree with the Declaration of Intent ( SOI ). It reads:
| I hereby express my solemn intention to relocate to New Hampshire. Once there, I will direct all my practical efforts to creating a society in which the sphere of influence of the state is limited to the protection of life, freedom and property. |
History
The Free State Project was founded in 2001 by Jason Sorens, a student at Yale [8] . Sorens published an article in en: The Libertarian Enterprise about the failure of libertarians in federal elections and with the ideas of the separatist movement [9] . Since then, separatism in movement has become much weaker than Sorens predicted in 2004 [9] . Sorens said the project supports the American tradition of political migration, including Utah Mormon migrants and Amish communities. [10]
The project started without any specific binding. Systematic reviews were conducted comparing the potential of different states with a population of one and a half million or more, and those where the combined costs of the Democratic and Republican parties in 2000 were less than $ 5.2 million, the total income of the libertarian party in the same year. Hawaii and Rhode Island were removed from the list due to their clear sympathies for the central government. [11]
In September 2003, a vote was taken. En: Condorcet method was used to select the state. [12] Won New Hampshire , with a 55% margin versus 45% in Wyoming . [12] Alaska , Delaware , Idaho , Maine , Montana , Vermont , and North and South Dakota were also on the voting list. [10]
The state of New Hampshire was chosen because the perception of the individualistic culture of New Hampshire should resonate well with libertarian ideology [13] However, the Free State Project was severely criticized by the native population due to opposition views of those who had come and their tax rejection. On the other hand, the Republicans actively supported the project, because it fits into their idea of a "small government" [14] .
In 2010, twelve “freestelers” were elected to the four- seat state chamber of representatives [15] .
By 2016 (over the 15 years of the project's existence) in New Hampshire, freestelers have simplified the acquisition and carrying of knives, the license plate reading system has been canceled, medical marijuana has been legalized, and private brewing has reappeared [1] .
Current Activities
The Free State Project does not engage in power struggles, supporting candidates in elections, or any other political activity [16] .
However, several project participants took part in democratic procedures. In 2006, Joel Winters was elected to the state legislature from the Democratic faction. [13] In 2008, he was re-elected; in 2010, he lost the election. [17] In 2008, four free-staters including Winters were elected to the House of Representatives . [18] In 2010, already twelve free-staters were elected there. [15] In 2012, selected participants wrote and handed Bill 418 to the authorities, requiring government agencies to legalize the free distribution and copying of open source software and free data formats [19] .
The management of the Free State Project uses decentralized decision making . While the control group solves various problems, most of the activities of the Free State Project are carried out by volunteers to assist the project to the best of their ability, and not by forcibly following the “unified plan” coming down from above.
Participation in the project
Free State Project is open to all adults (from 18 years and above). US citizenship is not necessary, but the Free State Project is not able to help everyone with a visa or immigration to the USA. People who advocate violence or racial intolerance are not welcome in the project [20] .
Those who wish to participate in the Free State Project sign a declaration of intent, pledging to move to the state over a period of time in the next five years.
Annual Events
The Free State Project is the official organizer of two annual events in New Hampshire:
- en: New Hampshire Liberty Forum is a libertarian forum with a wide variety of speakers, dinners and other events.
- The Porcupine Freedom Festival (PorcFest) - a week-long summer festival that takes place in a campground; essentially a more informal version of the forum.
Reviews
On February 17, 2006, economist Walter Block publicly expressed his support for the Free State Project [21] :
“You guys are doing divine work.” To spread libertarian ideas, FSP is one of the best applied projects that the libertarian movement has worked on over the past decades. You can succeed in your wildest dreams, and by doing so again show empirically the advantages and benefits of a free society.
Original textYou people are doing the Lord's work. The FSP is one of the freshest practical ideas for promoting liberty that has come out of the libertarian movement in the past few decades. May you succeed beyond your wildest dreams, and thus demonstrate in yet another empirical way the benefits and blessings of liberty.
In 2007, two candidates for the presidency of the United States immediately declared support for the project: Ron Paul [22] and Bob Barr [23] .
In 2010, Lew Rockwell of the Ludwig von Mises Institute also supported the project; he called the city of Keen "the northern capital of libertarianism" [24] .
In 2011, Peter Schiff said he was considering moving and participating in the project [25] .
See also
- en: New Hampshire Liberty Alliance
- en: Free West Alliance
- en: Free State Wyoming
- en: Paulville, Texas
- Minarchism
- Market Anarchism
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Freesteaters: How libertarians are trying to build a free society in a single state . Furfur. Date of appeal April 14, 2016.
- ↑ Belluck, Pam . Libertarians Pursue New Political Goal: State of Their Own , The New York Times (October 27, 2003). Date of treatment May 26, 2011.
- ↑ Live Free or Move
- ↑ Free State Project. Membership Statistics . Date of treatment April 5, 2012. Archived September 22, 2012.
- ↑ Mission Statement Archived January 18, 2013. from the Free State Project website
- ↑ Declaration and Resolves of the First Continental Congress . Avalon Project Yale Law School (October 14, 1774). - “That the inhabitants of the English colonies in North-America, by the immutable laws of nature, the principles of the English constitution, and the several charters or compacts, have the following RIGHTS: Resolved, NCD 1. That they are entitled to life, liberty and property: and they have never ceded to any foreign power whatever, a right to dispose of either without their consent. ” Date of treatment November 11, 2010. Archived September 22, 2012.
- ↑ Frequently Asked Questions About the Free State Project Archived on May 10, 2012.
- ↑ Larry Clow. The Free State turns two (link unavailable) . The Wire (October 5, 2005). Archived December 12, 2005.
- ↑ 1 2 Sorens, Jason. Announcement: The Free State Project (unopened) // The Libertarian Enterprise. - 2001 .-- 23 July ( v. 131 ).
- ↑ 1 2 Joanna Walters. Free staters pick New Hampshire to liberate for sex, guns and drugs . The Guardian (October 1, 2003). Archived on September 22, 2012.
- ↑ Joseph Spear, “An Experiment in Civic Engagement: The Free State Project” Archived March 25, 2009. , Oklahoma Policy Studies Review , Vol. 5, No. one.
- ↑ 1 2 Pete Camp, “Free State Project Picks New Hampshire” Archived March 12, 2005. , Up & Coming Magazine , October 8, 2003.
- ↑ 1 2 Sarah Schweitzer. Free State Project cheers on one of its own in Winters . The Boston Globe (November 16, 2006).
- ↑ Meredith Goldstein, “Free State Project pushes limits of liberty in NH,” Boston Globe , October 19, 2003.
- ↑ 1 2 For Some Ron Paul Backers, a New Motto: Go East, Young Man (and Woman) . NationalJournal.com (May 10, 2011). Archived on September 22, 2012.
- ↑ Introduction to the Free State Project Archived June 1, 2013.
- ↑ List of Nov. 2010 winners Archived on February 5, 2012. (unavailable link from 13-05-2013 [2354 days] - history )
- ↑ Ron Paul Republican wins seat in New Hampshire House (link not available) . RidleyReport Freestateblogs.net (February 15, 2009). Archived February 20, 2009.
- ↑ Slashdot comment by Rep. Seth cohn
- ↑ FSP Standard Disclaimer
- ↑ Walter Block's endorsement of the Free State Project Archived October 11, 2004 to Wayback Machine . FreeStateProject.org. February 17, 2006.
- ↑ Ron Paul Endorses the Free State Project .
- ↑ Bob Barr on the Free State Project .
- ↑ Lew Rockwell Endorses Free State Project! .
- ↑ Peter Schiff (Euro Pacific Capital Inc.) .
Links
- Free State Project - official site
- Porcupine Freedom Festival - an annual festival organized by project participants
- Libertopia (doc film about the project)
- Freesteaters: How libertarians are trying to build a free society in a single state - FURFUR - FURFUR