Watch "101 Reasons: Liberty Lives in New Hampshire," Great Doc on Free State Project

Click above to watch a great hour-long documentary about the Free State Project (FSP) in New Hampshire. FSP is pushing for 20,000 people to move to New Hampshire and work to reduce the size, scope, and spending of government. More importantly, the 1,600 or so folks who have already moved there are already creating a number of relentlessly interesting and fun communities. For my money, FSP is the most interesting experiment in creating intentional communities I've personally witnessed. 

Full disclosure: I show up several times in "101 Reasons" (first time is around the 13-minute mark). I was interviewed at last summer's Porcupine Freedom Fest (PorcFest), which was just totally awesome. I highly recommend attending it to anyone interested in libertarian ideas and community.

Comments

[antisocial-ist]

Is the FSP, or people associated with it operating any private schools? Do they need a football coach? Go porcupines!

[amelanchier]

Yep. Here's one: http://www.libertyharboracademy.org/ Also check out: http://www.e3ne.org/

[Greg83]

I want to move to New Hampshire from Connecticut but I can't find a decent job there. The corporate tax rate is way too high and keeps large employers out.

[BakedPenguin]

Southern NH has access to northern MA, where there are lots of jobs.

Also, here.

[Brandon Ross]

Excuses. No shortage of jobs. What do you do?

[Greg83]

I work in e-learning/training within the financial services/insurance industries.

There are definitely some jobs available, and I have applied to a half dozen of them but not heard back. Meanwhile I applied to one job locally and I hear back immediately and have an interview scheduled this week.

So maybe it is not so much lack of good jobs (although I think it is an issue) but that employers see an out-of-state resume and don't take it seriously. But there's no way I'm moving there without an offer on the table. It is a catch-22.

[Also Ran]

Greg83, if you are on Facebook, there is a FSP jobs group you could check out: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fspjobalert/

[Hyperion]

1600 libertarians and 1,325,304 blue state progressives. I really do wonder how those numbers stack up against other states?

[amelanchier]

NH is neither blue nor red. PVI +1 Dem. Perfect situation for libertarians IMO. Also you're undercounting libertarians if you only include signed-up FSP movers. Add 2372 in-state friends for about 4000 total libertarian activists in state: http://bit.ly/1v4Ug3U

That's activists, not voters. Every activist brings along several voters.

[Hyperion]

It's really difficult to conceptualize any state on the east coast as being anything other than blue.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Based on the state legislature, I would wager the number is more like 795,182 Democrats and 530,121 Republicans. Based on personal experience, I'd say the NH GOP splits evenly between 1/3 SoCon, 1/3 NeoCon, and 1/3 Liberty Caucus types.

[amelanchier]

In presidential years, the Dems win the state house; in midterm years, the GOP does. The state really is very evenly divided, and has been since the late 90s.

In a safely red or blue state, one party wouldn't want us (the dominant one) and the other would provide no route to power. In a purple state, we can work with both parties.

[sorayahiltoniku]

I started with my online business I earn $58 every 15 minutes. It sounds unbelievable but you wont forgive yourself if you don't check it out.
For information check this site. ????? http://www.jobsfish.com

[Hyperion]

Would you guys just ban these spammers already? It's getting out of control.

[rts]

When they brought in registration we were promised ORDER!

[Swiss Servator, Winter kommt!]

So we need to load all the spammers on a ship, put them in hibernation and launch it?

[antisocial-ist]

Nativist!

[Swiss Servator, Winter kommt!]

But they can have Ceti Alpha V all to themselves!

[CE]

The FSP goal was 20,000 signers, to trigger the mass migration to NH. Last I checked they were over 16,000. Any guesses on when 20K will be reached? Any celebrity 20K signer? And how many of the 16K already signed up really intend to keep their pledge, if they remember it at all?

[Also Ran]

CE, the FSP began a Trigger The Move campaign this past year: http://bit.ly/1zapI50. According to that page, we are on pace to reach 20,000 by 2018, although there has been a lot of momentum these last few months, so that may not be accurate any more. I have heard of 2015-2016 as a goal, although that's probably a long shot.
As far as how many will end up moving, that's really up in the air. I do know that it was FSP founder Jason Sorens' original article that estimated 20k as the magic number to really make a difference. Since then, the FSP early movers have proven to be super activists, going way above and beyond anyone's expectations. So much so that Sorens has on numerous occasions stated that he believes that if early movers are any indication of future movers, it will take far fewer than 20k. I could be wrong, but he may have even specifically said 10k.

[Rorschach Carlyle]

Get back to us when Jason Sorens moves there. The last I heard, he was living in New York.

[Also Ran]

Jason Sorens made the move to New Hampshire like over a year ago and is now a professor at Dartmouth, jackass.
http://mad.ly/d7d8f3

[craiginmass]

I signed it back in about 2004 or so. I'm now reneging as they - like Libertarians everywhere - can't get shit together.

This whole project is a FAILURE- proof positive that Libertarians are all talk and no action.

BUT, there is still hope. Look - the Koch's have something like 60 BILLION and more pouring in each day. They can't spend it - even on fake gourmet wine (they got ripped off for that stuff)....

So if they took just one billion - and offered nice time payments to those 20,000 libertarians to move to NJ and show the country what the Right Way of governance is, this would actually prove or disprove those theories.

BUT, heck, it's easier for the Koch's just to outright buy the pols than to convince the people that they have The Answer.

[Also Ran]

I signed it back in about 2004 or so. I'm now reneging as they - like Libertarians everywhere - can't get shit together.

This whole project is a FAILURE- proof positive that Libertarians are all talk and no action.

Dude, seriously?? The move to NH hasn't even been triggered yet. Over 1600 participants have chosen not to wait around until we hit the 20,000 mark and moved early, and you call that all talk and no action? Those 1600 early movers have already gotten more than a dozen people elected to state office, bad laws have been repealed, pro-liberty bills have been passed. There have been countless examples of successful outside-the system activism such as Cop Block, Robin Hooding, Shire Sharing just to name a few, not to mention all the instances of civil disobedience and non-cooperation, and you call that all talk and no action?
From your comment I assume you live in NJ, and the 1600 early movers to NH have probably done more in the last 5-10 years than the liberty activists in NJ have accomplished in a lifetime, NJ currently being one of the biggest authoritarian hell holes in the country and slipping further every year. It sounds to me like you are the one who is all talk and no action and are making up fake reasons not to actually walk the walk and make the move to NH.

[Also Ran]

Sorry, from your handle I see you are in Mass. My comment is just as relevant: more has been accomplished by FSP early movers than activists in Mass have done in a lifetime.

[Redmanfms]

craiginmass is a radical progressive fucktard who has recently started positing that he's a libertarian.

He's best ignored.