Libertarian party has interesting idea

In this age of political apathy, where the differences between most candidates’ platforms are… In this age of political apathy, where the differences between most candidates’ platforms are defined more by convention than actual policy, at least one political party is doing something interesting.

The Libertarian Party has selected New Hampshire as the host site for its Free State Project. The idea, first conceived three years ago, is to convince 20,000 libertarians from across the country to move to a single state and use their strength as a voting bloc to create a Libertarian utopia.

Most states might see this as colonization by gun-toting potheads with gambling addictions, but it seems that New Hampshire is more than happy to have them. While the decision was still up in the air, Republican Gov. Craig Benson, told the libertarians, “Come on up. We’d love to have you.”

Accompanying the governor’s hospitality, there are also institutionalized aspects of New Hampshire government that will ease the job of creating a libertarian society. First of all, there’s the clause in the state’s constitution specifying the peoples’ rights to revolution and secession: “Whenever the ends of government are perverted, and public liberty manifestly endangered, and all other means of redress are ineffectual, the people may, and of right ought to reform the old, or establish a new government.”

New Hampshire also boasts the lowest state and local tax burden in the country. And of course there’s the state motto, “Live free or die.” I didn’t make that up.

So, wow, what does all this mean? 5,000 people are already signed up to move and they hope to hit the 20,000 mark in two years. Combined with local support, they may have a chance to actually pull this thing off. Granted, the libertarians are hoping to move 20,000 people – not a lot compared to the almost 570,000 people who voted in New Hampshire in 2000, but let’s assume they’re embraced by the community and allowed to do whatever they want. Then what? Will it serve as a model of liberty for the world, as the libertarian party hopes, or will it stumble and fall into a pit of addiction and inequality?

Well, I don’t really know. Given a libertarian tax environment, businesses should flock to the area and, given the small populace and general seclusion, it would appear that if instituting an ideologically ideal society can work anywhere, it would be New Hampshire Then again, there is the ever-present fact that some, if not most, libertarians are kinda wacky.

Regardless of the result, the next few years in New Hampshire should prove fascinating to watch. In the middle of New England, a small group of people is banding together to really try to change something. They want to create a society based on theory and principle. The world hasn’t seen anything like that since the rise of communism. That didn’t work out too well. But, still, the effort is admirable, even inspiring.

So, for the record, I’d like to place my support behind Project Free State. I’m not sure how things will go in New Hampshire once it’s completed but I think it’s great that at least one group in America is going beyond simply complaining about how things are in this country and is actually trying to change something by taking their own initiative.

Question, Comments, Insights or Suggestions? WMinton@pittnews.com.