I just read through the first dozen or so pages of this. So far, it’s excellent!
The title doesn’t adequately describe the book’s contents. Here are a few passages that, I think, reflect its contents a bit better:
Deist’s theme [is] that all crises are ultimately local and that “the” question of the twenty-first century is about centralization versus decentralization of state powers. “Our task is to end the charade of one nation,” he writes. The regime is illusionary. . . . It is one big, phony Wizard of Oz charade that will collapse if enough Americans come to understand that they greatly outnumber the relatively small cabal of political connivers, liars, and manipulators who run it. (p. 12)
The best hope, he says, is federalism [an inapt term for what he’s describing, in my opinion -FiatLux]—the one uniquely American contribution to political philosophy. Several of the essays explain the theory behind decentralization, or federalism, and offer practical advice on how to achieve it. . . . Deist doesn’t shy away from the S word, arguing that secession is the very essence of self-determination. “[S]ecession movements represent the last best hope for reclaiming our birthright,” he writes. (p. 12)
[F]or much of the population the state has replaced family, religion, civil society, and even respect for the elderly. It has also toiled mightily to replace plain English and logic with its “state-linguistic complex,” which seeks to impose new words and new meanings for old words in pursuit of totalitarian political power. (p. 13)
Thanks FiatLux. I’m still slowly reading it myself when time permits. But the quotes you cited were precisely some of the things that made me post the link here. This seems well worth some thought and discussion