Secession, State, and Liberty

David Gordon

The essays in Secession, State & Liberty argue that the political impulse to secede—to attempt to separate from central government control—is a vital part of the Lockean classical-liberal tradition, one that emerges when national governments become too big and too ambitious.

Unlike revolution, secession seeks only separation from rule, preferably through non-violent means. It is based on the moral idea, articulated by Ludwig von Mises in 1919, that “no people and no part of a people shall be held against its will in a political association that it does not want.”

These seven important essays—which cover philosophy, history, economics, and law—argue that the threat of secession should be revived as a bulwark against government encroachment on individual liberty and private property rights, as a guarantor of international free trade, and as protection against attempts to curb the freedom of association.

Secession, State, and Liberty edited by David Gordon

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Meet the Author
David Gordon
David Gordon

David Gordon is Senior Fellow at the Mises Institute and editor of the Mises Review.

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References

Gordonh, David, ed. Secession, State, and Liberty (Transaction Publishers, 1998).