Creating a Free State: Filmmaker Christina Heller on Building a Libertopia in New Hampshire

[EmmaBeelah]

Every attempt at creating a utopia (whether libertarian or other) has let ideology dominate over logic. The Soviet Union was supposed to be a utopia (for communists). Nazi Germany was working to create a utopia (for Nazis). No ideology can address every problem. It is harder to address real problems as they arise, than it is to adhere to an ideology.

[EmmaBeelah]

How does NH feel about being the chosen land by outsiders who want to create their idea of  utopia?

[eatinbongrips]

I knew she wasn't libertarian just by the people they chose to follow: A high school grad, a non profit guy and a walker...guy... Any entrepreneurs or folks with REAL jobs? Good idea for a documentary but on the surface, this looks like she completely missed the idea of libertarianism... Makes us look like bunch of hippies.

[diesrabb]

but its so cold! :/

[Mark123USA]

I think it would have been better if they chose Vermont, since that state pretty much has no gun laws. I just think it would have been smarter to go there.

[TheThordir]

Jeffrey Friedman has criticized libertarians for often relying on the unproven assumption that economic growth and affluence automatically result in happiness.

[LogicalFlawDetector]

@TheThordir

As opposed to what poverty? Economic growth is not the only thing which brings happiness.

[TheThordir]

the number of New Zealanders estimated to be living in poverty grew by at least 35% between 1989 and 1992; and health care has been especially hard-hit, leading to a significant deterioration in health standards among working and middle class people. In addition, many of the promised economic benefits of the experiment never materialised.

[TheThordir]

Of particular interest to economists is the "New Zealand Experiment", which began in 1984 when Roger Douglas became Minister of Finance and began radically restructuring the country's economy to fit the libertarian model. Over the next 15 years, New Zealand's economy and social capital faced a steady decline: the youth suicide rate grew sharply into one of the highest in the developed world;

[hcvang]

how ultimately american... individualism...

socialism is the devil, and yet it's working fine in scandinavia - we take care of one another... why would anyone want to become even more individualistic than they already are?

[LordVigeous666999]

you live in Scandinavia?

[ugotpimp]

blonde dude looks just like RUSH guitarist Alex Lifeson

[pioughd87]

i don't see why these people would choose to move to New Hampshire to find libertarians when Somalia is has been a libertarian paradise for years. why reinvent the wheel? Move to Somalia instead! Libertarianism!

[Krifko]

@pioughd87 Ever heard of a 'straw man argument'? Libertarianism has as one of its fundamental premises the rule of law. Somalia is not particularly known for its governance by law. I am not a libertarian but do your homework before you attack a position. This beyond pathetic. Lightweight.

[pioughd87]

@Krifko I'm sorry, but a state guaranteeing the "rule of law" sounds a little too authoritarian for me, comrade. If I can't create a corporation that can fund its own private army of Pinkertons to maintain commercial law in my company town, I might as well live in East Germany.

[Krifko]

@pioughd87 You cleary don't know what the rule of law is. Look it up.

[blogegog]

Hmm. I dunno. Ted Ballicker is a pretty cool name, but it's no Radley Balko. Plus, if you look at that last name long enough, it seems to have gay sexual overtones. I'm starting an offline petition to get him to change his name to ROD BALSMASHER. Let's face it, he can't compete with a guy named Radley while named 'Ted'. And licking balls is just a losing proposition, imo. In fairness, I've never tried it, so there may be some plusses that I don't know about.

[go25iunb]

I've only recently acknowledged the correlation between libertarianism and computer programming.

[Slipknotyk06]

If it takes off, I'll jump on board :-) I'll try to keep track of this.

[Libertarianist]

I think I just fell in love.

[ArtStone]

The Free Talk Live syndicated radio show is picking up a lot ofvaffiliates

[thomaserossi]

Libertarians are like Liberals - they don't REpopulate. And unfortunately, unlike Liberals they don't utterly dominate Public Schools so their numbers will always be low.

[stick1to2the3issue]

@thomaserossi

insightful. at least we can be thankful for liberals not repopulating.

the responsible thing to do as a libertarian is have at least 2.1 children (the rate required to keep any population group stable).

[hcvang]

@thomaserossi thank god.

[TylerNull]

Potheads unite !

If I open a business in this "free state", will I be sued for firing potheads?

[hcvang]

@TylerNull probably, lol

[Houshalter]

"Free state"? Kind of an oxymoron.

[go25iunb]

@Houshalter Not if "free" is the verb.

[squirreljester2]

Hey, I walked to freaking California from Chicago! the site is youguysarestupid

[RalphKSwanson]

Delightful! A similar program is happening via the Libertarian International Organization except developing people locally.

[aallppiinnee]

ugh, a good movement once again derailed by marijuana morons

[blue1513]

@aallppiinnee Marijuana Morons? You'd fight limiting salt in restaurants, outlawing cigars or banning alcohol, but you pick on marijuana?? Really?!

[aallppiinnee]

@blue1513

no, but making salt the centerpiece of my ideology would be wacky right? same applies to those that do it with marijuana.

[HoldingOnToLiberty]

Wow!  I'm a computer programmer and I am mostly libertarian.

[realrockvince]

WoW WoW WoW! Thank you so much for doing this interview!

I'm so excited to see this film! I heard about it almost a year ago. I've been waiting patiently. The moment is almost here.

I moved from Florida to New Hampshire last year. I encourage everybody who likes Reason to move. Please check out the Free State Project website for more info.

If you need help moving, please message me!

[umbilicaltapeworm]

there is no such thing as a free State, only individuals.

[Emil246]

@umbilicaltapeworm their is no such thing as individuals only molecules.

[umbilicaltapeworm]

@Emil246 perhaps, but do molecules act? my point being, there IS only what you perceive. should you have to live your life chained by the perceptions of an individual not of your "universe"? this is merely MY perception of the mechanism of the State...

[mcap52]

Don't you guys get it??? The GOVERNMENT wins...... everytime!!!

[BelieversinThings]

@mcap52 Your what we call a good German. Some people would rather fight than accept subjugation. After all, the government didn't win in 1776, the french revolution, the bulshevick revolution, the Irish fight for independence, etc. You're a weak piece of shit and don't deserve to enjoy the benefits of living in this country.

[mangoswiss]

Damn. I'm married already.

[1stdonowrong]

Successfulbuild? What has been so successfully built by the machinations of democracy and state worship? Prisons and jails to contain the 7 million currently held in the "justice" system in the U.S.- about the population of six states the size of New Hampshire. And that's not all! An empire stretching to the far corners of the planet.

And a centrally controlled banking system that ensures an infinite war chest.

[1stdonowrong]

There is nothing ethical about democracy- it is simply "Hey, there's more of us than you!"- a thought worthy of any street gang. Voting is not sacred, even if it is treated like a sacrament by many.

[asphyxiafeeling]

@1stdonowrong

That's why we live in a (quickly devolving) Republic, instead of a Democracy.

[umbilicaltapeworm]

@asphyxiafeeling you are talking about varying degrees of "soft" tyranny. regardless of the size of the ruling class there will always be a minority that is not represented. it is the inherent coercive nature of government, ALL government, that makes it immoral. some say government is a necessary evil, and a smaller government over a larger one is a lesser evil. I have never had much luck doing good with evil. true libertarianism = voluntaryism.

[umbilicaltapeworm]

@1stdonowrong that's why I vote with my dollars (or a more sound currency when the dollar is worthless); EVERY vote counts, not just those of the majority.

[Leavon]

I think this young lady is more of a "Liberal" Tarian, I just see her as another Liberal riding the coat tails of a political wind to follow but I'll keep an open mind as see how she evolves.

[rightarmofwyoming]

Awesome TV piece.

[AvatarRoku1]

The media and the government (same difference) say the EXACT opposite of the TRUTH. To learn the truth, listen to the MSM, flip it around 180° and there it is!

[LibertopiaFilm]

Thanks for all of the comments! We love hearing from those interested in the documentary. We would like to know -- How far would you go for Freedom?

Also, if you feel so inclined, subscribe to our Youtube channel for more information about the film.

[Gamermatt99]

I'm 18 and I'd totally want to move there if i weren't stuck in college here in Cali

[realrockvince]

@Gamermatt99 You're not stuck in California, just pick up and move! That's what the rest of us did.

If you need any help moving, message me. Think it over. You can transfer to a school here. At the very least, i encourage you to visit freestateproject (dot) org and sign up!

[Gamermatt99]

@realrockvince im seriously considering it, but once i have finished my undergrad schooling at my cali university first

[Mark123USA]

@Gamermatt99 It's called transfering :-)

[safewaysecurity]

Where can I find the documentary she did on guns in New Hampshire

[LibertopiaFilm]

@safewaysecurity Go to Current.com and type in HellerGoodale - The piece we made for them is called "To Keep and Bear Arms." They re-edited it to a piece called "Locked and Loaded," on which they added a little of their spin. It was our first piece for Current, made all the way back in 2007, so please be kind. ;)

[successfulbuild]

From the Polity IV project, you can see that people generally favor transitions to democracies instead of towards another form of totalitarianism. Furthermore, you will see that "adverse regime change" (the slip back towards totalitarianism, fascism, Libertarianism) is less common in purely democratic regimes, than ones with a 3-6 ranking (democracies don't go to fascism). Finally, political violence is most common in states with a negative (more totalitarian) ranking.

[successfulbuild]

@successfulbuild *favor transitions to democracies in totalitarian regimes instead of to another form of totalitarianism. (clarification)

[successfulbuild]

Polity IV Project...

_

Bryan Caplan, little Jeffrey at the Mises Institue, etc. would never debate me on the fact that there is much more freedom today than in the 1800s (which they claim is more free for some people) because they know the sources back me up on this.

[successfulbuild]

Sorry, 74%, even hgiher. Source: is academy liberal?

_

Furthermore, that's even higher than the economists, whose liberal bias is also in the 70s. That's right, with neoclassical economics dying, Libertarians are a rare breed even in their professed "expertise" on the net: economics. Source available upon request.

[jetboyJ22]

@successfulbuild "Libertarians would rather have their own pseudo-intellectual philosophers, fascists, and racists dictating society than the "stupid masses.""

You are confusing political means with political ends. Democracy is not inherently good- it is only good insofar as the results it produces are good. Hayek was essentially saying that he would prefer to live in the country with the most individual freedom (good ends), regardless of which type of political system (the means) it uses.

[successfulbuild]

@jetboyJ22 Democracy is self-correcting. A dictatorship is not. On the political IV scale you can see that the more democracy there is the more freedom there is.

_

Unlike in fascist Libertarianism, in a democracy everybody has the right to vote, or the right to exist in other words. It's assumed you have the right to live, to participate. In totalitarianism (Libertarianism) the right is property rights, so it would be ethical for a land owner to dominate the land and starve people to death.

[TehBANN3D]

@successfulbuild you're bastardizing the word ethical, unless you think it is synonymous with 'legally permissible', in which case, democracy entails that it is ethical for the majority to rob and enslave the minority (which is precisely what happens)

[successfulbuild]

@jetboyJ22 I don't understand why totalitarians think you know what "is good" and what "isn't good."

_

A handful of idiots on the internet do not get to decide what is good for nearly 7 billion people, now do they?

[successfulbuild]

Btw... I troubled myself and looked up the statistics on Computer Scientists and their ideology - it turns out they are the most LIBERAL discipline out of all the engineering disciplines (I consider CS closer to engineering than pure science, although at the graduate level I suppose it is more like mathematics), at 71% LIBERAL.

_

So name the famous Libertarian computer scientists? Libertarians are generally technicians, the car repairmen/grease monkies of the computer world.

[successfulbuild]

Libertarianism is fundamentally flawed because it's based on the premise that all rights are property rights. There can be no system that's based from a single axiomatic principle. This is manifest to every first year computer science or mathematics student who has studied the foundations of the field.

[successfulbuild]

@successfulbuild As Hayek said, "I'd prefer a liberal dictator to a democracy lacking in liberalism" - i.e., Libertarians would rather have their own pseudo-intellectual philosophers, fascists, and racists dictating society than the "stupid masses." In political science this is called "elite democracy." It's just stupid and denies people of their self-governing rights.

[successfulbuild]

@successfulbuild Libertarianism is fascism because it comes from the belief that property owners are the ultimate producers in society - see Ayn Rand. This is in direct contrast to liberals like von Humboldt. Thus, the only duty of the government is to set up a bunch of rights that are protected by a dictator, instead of allowing people to bargain with their government/landowners. That is why Libertarians are against collective bargaining rights which keeps the state in check.

[jetboyJ22]

@successfulbuild Fascism is an authoritarian political system that seeks to stamp out individuality and replace it with a state ethos or state sanctioned system of thought. It is embodied by big government, militarism, and corporatism.To be libertarian is to oppose all of this. How exactly does a respect for human rights translate into fascism in your mind?

[successfulbuild]

@jetboyJ22 They actually HAD TO HAVE MILITARISM because the capitalist economy couldn't sustain itself in Nazi Germany/fascist Italy. This is the same thing that has historically happened in the United States - the US continually intervenes in other spheres of the world, particularly the Middle East and Latin America, in order to maintain its capitalist hegemony. This is standard foreign policy analysis. George Kennan and other state department officials admitted this is what they were doing.

[successfulbuild]

@jetboyJ22 Reread my comment. I explained why it has political connections to fascism and not to liberalism/socialism. Or just take a course in political theory. In fascism they cut taxes on the wealthy, banned all unions (i.e., made every company a "right to work" company, although in Nazi Germany companies did have to give workers at least a week or so notice), privatized industries, and so on. It's actually a myth that Nazi Germany was an "economic miracle"...

[successfulbuild]

@jetboyJ22 And quit getting your "political analysis" from some idiot named "JacobSpinney."  "JacobSpinney" is a moron who's never taken a class in the social sciences in his life probably. He thinks the US government is going to collapse by 2016 or some shit. He's a nutjob. Economists expect the economy to be out of the recession by 2018 or so, new unemployment of about 7 to 8%. This is bad, but to be expected in capitalism. Keep in mind this is much higher than Western Europe's unemployment.

[LVFREE]

Christina is such a lovely spokesperson; we look forward to her moving to NH permanently as a FSP participant.

As a NH native, I can tell you that Free Staters are a welcome addition to our state. They are entrepreneurial and embrace the non-aggression principle. I look forward to all 20,000 being here!

[scalp340]

the opening dialog, made be feel good...to be a libertarian.

[famemolto]

I lived in New Hampshire for years. Wonderful place. I would leave the city and move back if I thought I could give my family anything like the standard of living we enjoy now. I can't take such a risk with young children to raise.

[realrockvince]

@famemolto New Hampshire is always ranked as one of the best states to raise kids. Why would you move?

Please move back!

[furyofbongos]

Really? No income or sales tax? In the entire state? There must be some coercion going on somewhere to fund the government monopoly activities and disgustingly fat pensions. So where's the gun?

[vonPeterhof]

@furyofbongos I heard that they make up for the lack of income and sales taxes by having very high property taxes.

[realrockvince]

@furyofbongos Move to New Hampshire! If you need help moving, message me. Check out the FSP website for more info.

[saper321]

Union thugs in Wisconsin are terrorizing the state. Come on reason.TV get on that. Wisconsin is under siege by socialists. They need help.

[redlightmax]

All those smug libertarians in one place? Sounds more like a living hell. Libertardia?

[ghost9pm]

@redlightmax Obvious troll is obvious

[successfulbuild]

@redlightmax LOL. Notice how they said their goal was twenty-thousand 10 YEARS AGO, and they've only got about a thousand kooks and conspiracy theorists. That's smaller than your average Star Wars convention - although Star Wars nerds probably are more well grounded in reality.

_

Meanwhile, populist leftist revolutions in Egypt (where people are holding signs complaining about frozen credit and discussing inequality) and the ME, and here in the US with the assault on unions, are growing.

[Dysentery7885]

Are these people really so stupid that they believe there is a such a thing as a free state? It is an oxymoron.

[dmgoddard]

Actually, NH *does* have gay marriage.

[BeaterofSlor]

Nice video, looking forward to LIbertopia. I moved here almost 3 years ago, and if you live in Michigan you'd find that it's hot and buggy in the summer, and snowy in the winter---so no change in the weather at all, and more free! I think the people are the best part, like a lot of friends you haven't met yet. I lived at Little Minnesota for awhile, which is where the target shooting in the video took place.

[scrappmutt2]

I think if Libertarians abandoned their official party and concentrated on just taking over the Republican party or even Democratic party in the same way the progressives pretty much have, they would be a lot more successful than they have been. If they were to gain enough power that way, they would be able to fix the system (i.e. get rid of plurality voting in favor of approval or some other method) and then we wouldn't be forced into two party domination

[Aryaba]

@scrappmutt2 I'm fairly certain that is what the Tea Party movement is all about.

[Panpiper]

@Aryaba Not so much the Tea Party, which is all over the place and has no philosophy other than government being too big. It is rather the Libertarians, the Ron Paul folks, who are infiltrating and bringing the Republican party closer to what is was back in Goldwater days. Witness the 30% win Ron Paul took in the CPAC straw poll. That did not come from Tea Party votes.

[scrappmutt2]

@Aryaba Agreed to a small point, there is still a good bit of "social conservatism" in the tea party movement, but aside from that, the problem is we have way to many great candidates still in the Libertarian party running. Best they come to winning causes a split vote between them and the Republicans.

[GeminiK]

Cool, hopefully they have an engineering college I could transfer to :).

[sparksza1]

Well shit, looks like I'm moving to New Hampshire.

[lucretius123]

its like zionism for libertarians.

[Aryaba]

@lucretius123 But without the initiation of force.

[Dukems09]

@lucretius123 To be more accurate, Zionism is the polar opposite of Liberty.

[Garboth]

@lucretius123 Not remotely.

[sharinganclan213]

i've lived in califronia my whole life. never seen snow. i know i'll love the snow at NH, maybe exept for the trouble I have to go through for getting my car started, but the sure beats the 1 hour trafic I spend everyday driving to school and back home!

[sergeantcortez]

Anyone else get a massive sexual tension vibe from this?

[sharinganclan213]

this sounds cool!

[OhMyGoog]

I've lived in NH for 25 years. We couldn't be happier the Free Staters are joining us!

[kevinfreeheart]

This video is a little dated. A few things Christina mentioned (specifically gay marriage, but the number of elected folks as well) have changed. More Free Staters have been elected and gay marriage bas been passed.

[Thorbie]

I've think Nevada would have been a better choice. Gambling, prostitution, unfettered and celebrated commercialism, Penn & Teller, warm weather, and wide open spaces that evoke the old endless frontier mentality America was known for.

[Panpiper]

@Thorbie The low population density was a key factor in the choice no doubt. A thousand activists working in a state with a million people can have a huge impact. In Nevada with 2.5 times the population, they would be 2.5 times 'less' effective.

[jwka2001]

Im a libertarian, i love it, cause i can win any argument with logic and reason :P And i am smart too and nice

[captaindiesalot]

Well, I'd like to include myself in the group, but I live in Florida...it's warmer here...perhaps we could have a second Free State? We have no helmet laws, no income tax, and everyone can own a gun.

[flynn2008]

Trying to make libertarians to move to a single place is like herding cats. But libertarians gathering movement is reactionary to the collectivists movement that has been going on forever. best of luck my fellow liberty lovers.

[nachomahn]

Here in my office ... 4 programmers and all 4 are Libertarian.

[chris1234p]

@nachomahn im a programmer and many of my friends who are programmers are also libertarian. we are from maine

[RangerMcFriendlie]

@nachomahn

Open Source!

[MegF142857]

Just say no to Facebook.

[seemoretube]

I'd like to liberate her qim.

[deshaebeasley]

I wanna be apart of that program! :D

[alvincay100]

Free State! Ha!  FAIL!!!

[MagnusIan]

I'd move to NH if it didn't get so goddamn cold.

[OnGuard4Liberty]

@MagnusIan "Give me liberty or give me warmth!" Pfft, wimps. ;-p

[timfmr]

@MagnusIan 62 degrees today!

[kungfujones1]

@timfmr Luvin it in Portsmouth

[redrajani]

ah but i hate being cold!

[Panpiper]

@redrajani I'm Canadian and am used to somewhat colder that New Hampshire. If you dress properly, and insulate your home, eliminating drafty windows and double sealing them, you do not experience any more cold than you want to.

If I was a US citizen, I would strongly consider moving to New Hampshire.

[redrajani]

@Panpiper Thanks for the encouragement! I've lived in the mild/warm California climate my whole life, so it would be a pretty drastic change in daily temp for me. But, I really should go...

[DackIsBack]

Good luck fighting the Federal Government guys!!

[ronhelwig]

@DackIsBack We won't need to fight the Feds, they're destroying themselves just fine. :-)

[DackIsBack]

Hell Yeah!!

Take a state and SECEDE FROM THE UNION!!

[ChouangDsi]

It's not an insult, just a misnomer.

[MooseOfReason]

Heller mentioned that she did pieces for Current. If you go to their site, look up "HellerGoodale" and you can watch her videos.

[dirtbagstatus]

We could definately use some help here in NH from Libertarians. Over the last few years we have been flooded by immigrants from Ny,Ct,and MA,and many of them brought their nanny state views with them.

[yinzjagoffs]

@dirtbagstatus  That's the big problem isn't it? Unproductive People will always look at productive people with the intent to enslave them.

[bradwatson7324]

@dirtbagstatus That's one reason I am reluctant to move there. Also, I don't see enough benefit to doing so because secession wouldn't work, and there's not enough libertarians there to refuse demands from Washington and get away with it. At current rates of libertarian immigration to the state, there might be enough libertarians there to refuse to pay income taxes by the year 3050.

[Panpiper]

@bradwatson7324 I don't think the intent was ever to secede, but rather to create a critical mass that would serve as a seed. The idea is not to get a majority of libertarians to move there. The idea is to get enough activists there to ultimately convert the thinking of the rest of the population into being Libertarian. Having 1 activist for every 50 population is more than enough to completely transform the political thinking of that State.

[timfmr]

@dirtbagstatus To be honest most of my friends who have come to NH from MA, have come fleeing the nanny state. I have yet to see any data that backs up the "MA takeover" claims spouted in the UL on a daily basis.

[dirtbagstatus]

@timfmr good point it is called the union misleader for a reason. I hope more of the people fed up with their nanny state move here.

[scalp340]

@dirtbagstatus i dont live in NH but im a hardcore libertarian in MA. me thinks these states are starting to influence NH, not the other way around.

[0HippyHunter0]

@dirtbagstatus Sad to hear thats happening in NH,too. I'm in CO and its a reality. Californians wrecked their state and now they don't like it, so they move to CO and begin wrecking this one, too. Very sad.

[REWHBLCAIN]

@dirtbagstatus immigrants, You should worry about the illegal immigrants.

[natdavi]

@dirtbagstatus Do you try the "freedom is why you left your home to come here" line?

[redpillguru111]

bunch of bull people thinking they know what they are talking about.

[MooseOfReason]

I will watch the documentary, but I don't like the title. Isn't that an insult people use to describe a libertarian society?

[Nielsio]

@MooseOfReason You can take any word people use and turn it into a good thing. Also by using a word such a that, you show that you are not afraid of negative connotations but are willing to elaborate on any concerns.

[DraskyVanderhoff]

Hey! if your fish love to kiss your feet and you enjoy it is your fucking problem! O.o Is not even Zoofillia O.o

[TheMarketAnarchist]

Move to NH if u wanna hav the biggest possible impact.

[yojimbo81]

Great video, Reason. I nearly moved to New Hampshire myself but I opted to fulfill a childhood dream and move to Arizona. Plus I was sick of snow! This could be a great liberty doc and I look forward to seeing it when it's released.