With our Leech City work, we’ve been focused on Georgia laws and issues. However, we’ve heard from reliable sources that there are other states out there, and with different combinations of issues. In addition to the local civil affairs aspect, we’ve decided to analyze states across a wide range of issues that influence whether any given state is a viable candidate for long-term civilization growth (or any civilization at all). I would like this to have an open source aspect to it, and make the results public, so that many people can benefit.

This isn’t the first time someone has done an analysis like this. The most obvious example is when the Free State Project was picking a target location. That project basically divided into two camps, more or less along the lines of left-libertarian and right-libertarian. The former set up a base camp in New Hampshire, and the latter in Wyoming. At the time, there was some consternation over the movement being split like that. However, with fundamental differences between the two camps, and their respective visions for the future, a split was not only inevitable, it was healthy. As a result, each Free State Project camp has been wildly successful in their own ways.

Similarly, I don’t expect that this effort is going to reveal one shining city on a hill. Better would be discovering many shining cities on many hills, each attracting the kind of person best for that area. My vision for what is good is different from others, and that is OK. A factor that I may reject for myself might be just the thing someone else is looking for.

Here’s one simple example. Some states have dry counties or cities. For many people, that would be a great thing. For me, however, even though I rarely drink, dry counties seem to be a magnet for selective enforcement, and thus local corruption and tyranny. That’s the kind of thing that leads to crime scene photos of a dead body in the middle of a pile of drug paraphernalia, and no one seems to notice anything amiss.

As another example, some think that remote areas with limited access are good things for TEOTWAWKI. For me, however, that represents a pinch-point for future generations in many ways. It is a toss-up for how one judges the transition playing out, or whether there would be a transition at all. Also at issue is quality of life, and thus the ability to prepare accordingly in the meantime, however long that meantime might be.

So, we’re going to be publishing results of this analysis as it makes sense to do so, and we welcome input and suggestions on factors to consider, and field reports from your personal experiences.