Notes on “Style”

Re: my colleague Ali Massoud’s blog on the Free State Project (FSP), I wanted to ask a question:

Are “individualism and self-reliance” the only path toward liberty?

Perhaps in part because I was born-and-bred in NY, -- and, yes, I think I still pronounce it “New Yawk,” -- my answer is “No.” I don’t know a truly self-reliant person. There may well be some folks who’ve taken to a mountain cave and live off the land, but I suspect they are very few in number.

Human beings have a strong tendency to travel in packs, or tribes. We’re all highly reliant on one another…for our food, our shelter, our incomes, etc. The point of “civilization,” however, is that we have evolved to a place in which we get to choose our tribe and our complex web of economic and social interdependencies. To me, that’s liberty.

To suggest that some regions of our country have a superior ethos for liberty does not ring true for me, at least. It does seem to take on a different tenor in the northeast than it does in the south or mountain west or wherever. Challenges to liberty can be found across the 50 states, but it mostly comes from the Federal Government, as I see it.

Liberty – however – need not be about “individualism.” If that’s what floats one’s boat, go for it. I prefer, however, to view liberty as “peaceful association.” That’s a message that I believe plays nationwide, including the northeast. Accepting and promoting stereotypes about regions of this country is, IMO, not helpful to our cause.

-Robert Capozzi