If We Try to Leave, Will They Let Us Go?

By Christopher Cook & Editor

In this article, a friend of Underthrow, Christopher Cook, explores one of the basic questions of exodology. In other words, as we practice the third imperative of subversive innovation—Lower exit costs—forces will try to block the exits. We’re seeing this today, particularly in the finance and currency realms. But what about the supposed ‘right of self-determination? What if Texans, en masse, decided it was time for Texas to become a Republic again?

Us and them.

I love the song, but hate the phrase. I don’t particularly enjoy dividing people up into binary categories. Nonetheless, doing so does serve a valuable purpose—categorization and pattern recognition help us understand the world.

For the purposes of this article, then, allow me to define the US and the THEM.

Us

WE…are somewhere on the journey from red-pill to black-pill to clear-pill to free-pill.

In other words—we discovered how truly messed up things are. It freaked us out, and even made us a little depressed, but we have come to terms with it.

Now, we want nothing to do with the system. We want out. We want to exit and build. We want to create parallel institutions. We want to decentralize, devolve, and secede.

We don’t want to force anyone to go with us. We just want to be free to go.

Them

THEY…are a combination of two cohorts.

First, there are the People of the System. Politicians. Power-players. The architects, operatives, and enforcers of the regime. They won’t let us go because…well, because nobody gets to go. Going just isn’t allowed.

Then, there are the cheerleaders of the regime. They are the people who believe that nothing but the state is possible. They are the people who believe—owing to a pathologized version of human social nature—that nothing but the collective is allowed.

They are the lefties who believe that you’re not allowed to go because you’re not allowed to take your money with you—because the tribe has a claim on your stuff. No one leaves the tribe…well, because no one leaves the tribe. Because the tribe is the tribe, you are just a sub-unit of the tribe. Because “we have to find ways to live together.”

Unfortunately, they are also some conservatives who are locked into a permanent idée fixe about the Founders’ “original vision.” They believe that there was an idealized version of our “constitutional republic” that existed early on, and that we can somehow get back there. They believe—in spite of all evidence to the contrary—that the limited government we were (supposedly) bequeathed can be restored, and then kept limited.

And after years of defending the classical-liberal gains of the Founders against a relentless onslaught from the left, they are also locked in permanent defense-of-America mode. (I understand because I used to be there myself.)

If you think all of this is overwrought, try tossing the notion of secession into a mixed-company conversation. The result is like throwing a piece of meat in a pit of Doberman pinschers who haven’t been fed for three days.

If it’s conservatives—you’re guilty of disloyalty and lack of patriotism. If it’s lefties—you can’t go because we’ve got collective problems to solve, don’t’cha know. Climate change and poor people and pollution. No one leaves the collective, you sick loner.

I know this because I’ve had the conversations. They do not demonstrate any awareness that they have no right to force us to stay. They simply assert that we cannot leave as a KnownFact™.

No one goes. Period.

Nonetheless, I want more data. I want to hear reactions from more people. To this end, I am going to posit a few scenarios and hope they get into the hands of those who feel this way.

I want to hear you defend the contention that we’re not allowed to disassociate ourselves, withdraw consent, and form our own polities on our own property.

Seasteading

I first became aware of the you-can’t-leave attitude in a Facebook discussion a few years back...