What is libertarianism? It is a political philosophy that advocates only minimal state intervention in the free market and the private lives of citizens.
According to Brittanica, “Libertarians are classical liberals who strongly emphasize the individual right to liberty. They contend that the scope and powers of government should be constrained so as to allow each individual as much freedom of action as is consistent with a like freedom for everyone else. Thus, they believe that individuals should be free to behave and to dispose of their property as they see fit, provided that their actions do not infringe on the equal freedom of others.”
Libertarianism is a combination of minimal government fiscal conservatism, free trade, low taxes. They favor more gun rights, less restrictive drug laws, and (sometimes) favorable views on gay marriage. The Libertarian Party has been in existence since about the 1970’s.
What is agorism? It is a free-market anarchist political philosophy that believes the ultimate goal is bringing about a society in which all "relations between people are voluntary exchanges”, a free market.
Agorism believes the government has no right to ban, regulate or tax any exchange of goods or services through mutual consent. In other words, do what you what, when you want, however you want. Agorism is a plank of the official 2023 New Hampshire Libertarian Party platform, run by Free Staters and other Anarcho-Capitalists.
The founder of the “Free State Project” (FSP) is Jason Sorens, now in his 40’s and a lecturer at Dartmouth. In 2001, he organized a migration of 20,000 Libertarians, anarchists, anarcho-capitalists, pacifists, even some like-minded Democrats and Republicans, to New Hampshire. Here they sought to create an even freer NH, free from laws and rules; free from government-issued currency, public schools and libraries; free from rules and laws that keep us safe such as environmental and zoning regulations, speed limits, drug laws (think fentanyl).
These new transplants immediately assimilated into NH life; lawyers, hair stylists, business owners, crypto dealers and most importantly, politicians. They quickly discovered there were already some elected officials and residents who were like-minded and formed the Liberty Alliance. Many of their members (FSP) got themselves elected to local planning, zoning, library and school boards.
In the NH House, this group called themselves the “House Freedom Caucus.” They generally run as Republicans, however, there was at least one who ran as a Democrat. By the year 2000, the NH House Republicans were under their control. They began the process of defunding public education with the help of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut. They opposed vaccine mandates, and strangled the governor’s emergency powers. All this and more was accomplished with the help of FSP board member Greg Moore, who is also the (NH) State Director of Americans for Prosperity. (think Koch brothers, although one is now deceased.)
Each year in NH, the Free State Project officially sponsors two events; the Liberty Forum, and The Porcupine Freedom Festival, or Porcfest. The Porcfest is a week-long festival held at a campground in Lancaster. At the Porcfest, those who are interested in doing so, are advised to seek volunteer positions in their towns. This way, when they want to seek an elected position they already have name recognition.
As of May 2022, roughly 6,232 people had moved to NH for the Free State Project,17 of them hold seats in the NH House. One of them is House Majority Leader and FSP member Jason Osborne.
2024 will be here before we know it. Before you vote, learn all you can about the people running for office who want to represent you!