That said, a National Divorce has nothing to recommend it. The practical obstacles are obvious and insuperable, and the likely effects would be very unwelcome to its proponents. If an insufficient patriotism is one of the ills of contemporary America, National Divorce would prescribe a strong dose of arsenic as a cure. It would burn down America to save America, or at least those parts of it considered salvageable.

The deleterious effects of a breakup would be enormous. A disaggregated United States would be instantly less powerful. Indeed, Russia and China would be delighted and presumably believe that we’d deserve to experience the equivalent of the crackup of the Soviet Union or the Qing dynasty, respectively. Among the catastrophes you wish on an adversary, secessionist movements potentially leading to civil conflict are high on the list.

The economic consequences could be severe. The United States of America is a sprawling, continentwide free trade zone, creating a vast domestic market that makes us all better off. Exchanging that for what might be a market Balkanized by state or region would be a major loss.

Finally, the United States foundering on its domestic divisions would be a significant blow to the prestige of liberal democracy.