Free State Project

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Free State Project
FormationSeptember 1, 2001
HeadquartersKeene, New Hampshire, United States
Membership
7,700+
Official language
English
Secretary General
Jason Sorens
Websitehttp://www.freestateproject.org/

The Free State Project (FSP) is a plan to have 20,000 or more libertarians move to a single state of the United States, with the intent of influencing local politics and policy. In 2003, the group chose New Hampshire, known for its "Live Free or Die" motto and absence of a state income tax and state sales tax, as its target.

The original target date for pledges was the end of 2006. As of June 11 2007, the project said that 7,718 people have pledged to move to New Hampshire, while at least 203 have actually moved there.[1]

Mission Statement

The Free State Project is an agreement among 20,000 libertarian activists to move to New Hampshire, where they will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of government is the protection of life, liberty, and property. The success of the Project would likely entail reductions in taxation and regulation, reforms at all levels of government to expand individual rights and free markets, and a restoration of constitutional federalism, demonstrating the benefits of liberty to the rest of the nation and the world.[2]

The statement of intent

I hereby state my solemn intent to move to the state of New Hampshire. Once there, I will exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property.[3]

Alternately, supporters of the FSP who cannot commit to the Statement may sign up as a Friend of the Free State Project.[3]

History of the movement

Inspired by an article published in L. Neil Smith's online magazine The Libertarian Enterprise on July 23, 2001, Jason Sorens, a Ph.D. candidate at Yale University at the time, argued that the thinly scattered libertarian activism was failing. His conclusion was that it would be necessary for libertarians to geographically concentrate their efforts in order to achieve "liberty in our lifetime." As a result, the Free State Project was founded on September 1, 2001.

When the FSP surpassed 5,000 members in August, 2003, a vote was held to choose the state. The ten candidates were (alphabetically): Alaska, Delaware, Idaho, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. These states were chosen because of their low populations (under 1.5 million), relatively pro-libertarian native cultures, lack of dependence on federal funds, and decent job markets. The voting process used a Condorcet method to determine which state was most preferable to the most people. On October 1, 2003, it was announced that New Hampshire had been chosen as the Free State (Wyoming came in second). The vote was certified by Alan R. Weiss of ECL / Synchromesh Computing of Austin, Texas as fair and unbiased. As part of the certification process, individual members of the FSP could also view their ballots on-line so that they could self-verify their vote.

Following the vote, the focus of the FSP shifted toward recruiting another 15,000 members to commit to the move to New Hampshire. Once membership reaches 20,000, all members are supposed to move within five years. There is no obligation to move until and unless 20,000 members are reached, but many members expressed their desire to move before that time. Early in 2004, Amanda Phillips was named President of the FSP. Amanda Phillips resigned in March 2006[4], and was replaced by Varrin Swearingen. Jason Sorens continues to remain active as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

After moving to New Hampshire, members have pledged to "exert the fullest practical effort toward the creation of a society in which the maximum role of civil government is the protection of life, liberty, and property." Most (but not all) plan to work within the political system to reduce the size and scope of government through reductions in taxation and regulation, reforms in state and local law, an end to federal mandates, and a restoration of what they see as constitutional federalism. Others include anarcho-capitalists who oppose taxation altogether. The Free State Project has become a "big-tent" political, social, and cultural movement for "liberty-minded" people. The Free State Project itself is non-partisan and non-political and does not take any stance on issues, but acts only as a "bus" to get these like minded individuals to move to New Hampshire.

The First 1000

First 1000 Pledge logo
First 1000 Pledge logo

In January 2006 the FSP launched "The First 1000"[5], an effort to sign up 1000 people who would agree to move to New Hampshire by the end of 2008, with the understanding that the agreement was only binding if at least 1000 people signed up before the deadline, set for midnight on December 31st, 2006. Response to the initial goal of 20,000 was relatively slow, and it was hoped that setting a smaller interim goal would speed up the migration to New Hampshire and generate additional publicity.

The sign-up rate accelerated sharply toward the very end[6] The pledge was successfully completed on December 30th, 2006 at around 8PM Eastern Standard Time, approximately 28 hours before the deadline.

Insignia of the FSP

Free State Project porcupine insignia
Free State Project porcupine insignia

The porcupine signifies a cute and cuddly creature which one is advised to avoid stepping on. This is meant to imply that these individuals are friendly and non-aggressive, but want to be left alone and will defend themselves if attacked, symbolising the non-aggression principle. This mascot has given rise to "porcupine" or "porc" being used as a term for both FSP participants as well as anyone in New Hampshire (FSPer or not) devoted to working for libertarian causes. The insignia bears the FSP's motto, "Liberty in Our Lifetime."

Recruitment progress

As of June 12, 2007, 7,718 participants have signed up. Of these, at least 458 are already in New Hampshire, including 203 who have logged into the website to declare that they have moved since the state vote. Over 1,000 originally opted out of New Hampshire and were removed from the count after the vote, so total growth since the state vote was held is over 3,000.

FSP members have been elected in New Hampshire. The list includes Dawn Lincoln of Winchester, NH on the Winchester Budget Committee, state representative Joel Winters, and other local officials. [citation needed]

The FSP also sponsors a syndicated call-in talk radio show, Free Talk Live which, as of May 16, 2007 is broadcast on 23 radio stations, as well as on satellite radio, via download, and via Podcasting services. This show has contributed to sustaining membership growth and encourages listeners to help expand syndication. The show moved from Sarasota, Florida to Keene, New Hampshire over labor day weekend 2006.

Splinter Groups

The Free State Project inspired or contributed to several splinter groups, such as the Free State Wyoming, which was created independently of the Free State Project, but which absorbed some of those who had voted for a western state and were disappointed by the selection of New Hampshire.

Another such project is the Free Town Project which was started in 2004 by a few Free State Project members who were hoping for quicker change at a smaller scale. However, the project's more radical members failed to win over the residents of their planned destination of Grafton, New Hampshire, and as such, the project does not currently seem to be active.

In spite of differing political views, some solidarity exists between the Free State Project and unrelated separatist movements that are gradually taking form in neighboring Vermont, Maine[7], the Canadian Maritime Provinces, as well as the established separatist movement in Québec.

Criticisms of the FSP

Many commentators have questioned the capability of the project to reach its goals. While the project at first received strong support in the libertarian community, it now appears to be stalling. Based on the recent lower rate of new sign-ups, the project might not reach its goal of 20,000 signed members for another 25-30 years — far later than the original plan of 20,000 by September, 2006.

As stated above, the First 1000 effort is one approach they are using to modify the plan from the original goal of 20,000 movers, in part because more recent estimations of required activist strength are significantly lower than 20,000.[8]

Another problem is the commitment of existing members to actually move when and if the time comes. Many did not participate in the 2003 state selection vote, and though several hundred of the non-voting members did reaffirm their commitment after being contacted by FSP leadership, a large number (estimated as between 1000-2000) did not respond.

To combat these problems, the FSP has stepped up recruitment efforts. These efforts include direct mail, BlogAds, and planning a more traditional convention-style summit in the winter, the New Hampshire Liberty Forum, with keynote speaker John Stossel in February 2007, along with its annual Porcupine Freedom Festival campout held each summer.

Also, the reaction of the present residents of the state is a controversial topic. The plan could be considered analogous to entryism. Free Staters claim they picked New Hampshire as their destination because it is the most in line with their own views. Reactions on the ground have been mixed, though some coalition building with both Left and Right has happened in the last year, over cross spectrum issues like halting the implementation of the federal REAL ID Act program within the state.

Documentation

A Candid World, a feature-length documentary about the Free State Project and its participants, is being worked on by New York City filmmakers Tom Caruso and Marc Femenella.

Antecedent political migrations

Main article: Political migration

There have been earlier movements to achieve a political or economical agenda by moving population to a relatively sparse territory. Private political migration includes efforts by individuals or organizations to persuade others to migrate to a specified location. The relocated people have not always moved voluntarily and they have not always been accepted by the previous residents; however, in this aspect the Free State Project is entirely voluntary and thus differs from some of the possible antecedents listed here.

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ^ Free State Project about the Free State Project accessed at June 12 2007
  2. ^ "Mission Statement". Retrieved 2006-11-14.
  3. ^ a b "Free State Project — Join". Free State Project, Inc. 2006-11-08. Retrieved 2007-02-13.
  4. ^ Free State Project FSP President Amanda Phillips resigns; Varrin Swearingen to be new President
  5. ^ Free State Project First 1000 accessed at May 13 2007
  6. ^ First 1000 on Pledgebank accessed at May 13 2007
  7. ^ Free Main accessed at May 13 2007
  8. ^ Sorens, Jason. "What Can 20,000 Liberty Activists Accomplish in New Hampshire?". Retrieved 2007-01-07.
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