… is from page 367 of my late Nobel laureate colleague Jim Buchanan’s May 1978 article in the American Economic Review, “Markets, States, and the Extent of Morals,” as this article is reprinted in volume 1 of The Collected Works of James M. Buchanan: The Logical Foundations of Constitutional Liberty (ellipses original):
I become discouraged when I observe so little discussion, even among scholars, of the federal alternative to the enveloping leviathan. Where is the Quebec of the United States? Where is the Scotland? Could a threat of secession now succeed? More importantly, could the emergence of such a threat itself force some devolution of central government power? Who will join me in offering to make a small contribution to the Texas Nationalist Party? Or to the Nantucket Separatists? From small beginnings….
Jim died three years ago today. His scholarship, brilliance, and wisdom are still very much missed.
