An fascinating article from Salon. Maybe they can make common cause with the League of the South?

The Vermont economist mentioned in the article, Thomas Naylor advocates a “peaceful, democratic, libertarian, grassroots movement opposed to the tyranny of the United States” and “the Vermont of small towns, small farms, small businesses, local governance, grass-roots democracy, green activism: Vermont as the gentle Switzerland of North America (but armed to the teeth, as Vermonters enjoy hunting in the woods).”

Naylor wrote an book along these themes with William Willimon (Duke chaplain, Methodist bishop and sometime collaborator with Stanley Hauerwas) called Downsizing the U.S.A., kind of a libertarianism meets E. F. Schumacher manifesto.

In principle, it’s hard to see why secession shouldn’t be permitted. If a group of people doesn’t want to live under the sovereignty of a larger political entity, why should they have to? Of course, how far down do you allow secession? Radical libertarians go so far as to advocate individual secession.

Plus, any state considering secession would have to reckon with the fact that the U.S. government would have claims to some of the land (national parks, etc.), much of the infastructure and other investments it had made. Would peaceful secession require the secessionists to buy out the feds? Another problem is the question of individuals who didn’t want to secede from the larger units. Would they be forced to come along or get out?

Still, an interesting idea to entertain.