Title: American secession : the looming threat of a national breakup /
Authors: Buckley, F. H. 1948-
Year: 2020
Subjects: Secession United States.; Polarization (Social sciences) United States.; States' rights (American politics); Polarization (Social sciences); Politics and government; Secession; States' rights (American politics); United States Politics and government; United States Politics and government Philosophy; United States
Abstract: "Americans have never been more divided, and we're ripe for a breakup. The bitterness, the gridlock, the growing tolerance of violence, invite us to think that we'd be happier were we two different countries. In all the ways that matter, save for the naked force of law, we are already two nations. There's a second reason why secession beckons. We're over-big, one of the biggest countries in the world. Smaller countries are happier and less corrupt. They're less inclined to throw their weight around militarily, and they're freer. If there are advantages to bigness, the costs exceed the benefits. Bigness is badness. Across the world, just about every country is staring down a secession movement. Many have already split apart. And are we to think that, almost alone in the world, we're immune from this? Or that the Civil War made secession impossible? If so, this book explodes those comforting beliefs, and shows just how easy it would be for a state to exit the union if that's what its voters wanted"--
Contents: One nation, divisible -- When secession is politically correct -- Secession : a how to guide -- Bigness and badness -- Bigness and happiness -- Bigness and corruption -- Bigness and the military -- Bigness and freedom -- Bigness and wealth -- Secession lite -- Home rule -- Everything that rises must converge.