Peter Thiel Makes Down Payment on Libertarian Ocean Colonies

http://www.wired.com/science/planetearth/news/2008/05/seasteading

by naish • 18 years ago

44 29 18 years ago

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

For the theory, history, and practical details of the project, don't miss Patri Friedman's exhaustive book on the subject:

http://seasteading.org/seastead.org/book_beta/full_book_beta...

Tichy2• 18 years ago

What do they plan to eat and drink?

dangoldin• 18 years ago

And what about pirates? =)

johnrob• 18 years ago

That is probably the biggest problem. One thing we take for granted in our nation states is a military defense.

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

From the article:

"Of course, one major role of government is to provide security, which would seem to be an issue on the open sea. But Friedman's not worried about defense beyond simple firearms because he thinks pirates will lack the financial incentive to attack the seasteads.

"More sophisticated pirates will take entire container ships that have tens of millions of dollars of cargo and 10 crew [members]," he said. "On a seastead, there's a much different crew-to-movable assets ratio."

In fact, his only worry is that a government will try to come calling and force their jurisdiction upon them. Toward that end, they are planning to fly a "flag of convenience" from a country that sells them, like Panama, to provide them with protection from national navies. "

Also, you should check out the website (http://www.seasteading.org) and read the FAQ. The founders have thought of the obvious questions.

SwellJoe• 18 years ago

I, for one, plan to fire upon them with my trusty sonic cannon.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,385048,00...

ovi256• 18 years ago

Do not worry, the free market will take care of it.

ivankirigin2• 18 years ago

I love that your sentiment is meant both as an attack by skeptics and an obvious answer by believers.

ComputerGuru2• 18 years ago

They're in the ocean. Typically, that would involve eating fish and drinking water :)

Then again, this is the 21st century. I cannot imagine the food they eat would differ too much from the food you're currently eating in Seattle/Chicago/SV/London/etc.

Tichy2• 18 years ago

fish occurred to me, too, but is it sufficient?

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

This is what they plan to eat and drink:

http://seasteading.org/seastead.org/commented/paper/infra.ht...

danteembermage• 18 years ago

The burbclave goes prescient?

On a more serious note, it would seem that governments tailor made for specific purposes might have a large competitive advantage over more established legal structures.

Suppose, for example, startups were allowed to hold equity auctions for a tiny fraction of their company on a weekly basis, with no SEC filings and only whatever accounting the market demands. I suppose that example is more generally libertarian, but perhaps particular law on what contracts are enforceable (the NDA for one) might be helpful.

LogicHoleFlaw• 18 years ago

Do you know the current Kongbuck exchange rate, by chance?

Jokes aside, leaving the accounting to the market seems ripe for fraud. Finance is staid, but it's got a lot of years of experience behind it.

Prrometheus4• 18 years ago

>Jokes aside, leaving the accounting to the market seems ripe for fraud. Finance is staid, but it's got a lot of years of experience behind it.

Where do you think accounting rules come from? Accounting practice comes from hundreds of years of custom and precedent, also known as "the market". It is only recently that accounting standards have been codified into law.

henning• 18 years ago

I suggest calling this brave new world Rapture ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioshock#Plot_summary ).

rp• 18 years ago

Perhaps the comparison is off-base but I have not read any mention of the Principality of Sealand in relation to this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

pchivers• 18 years ago

Check out the "Review of Similar Projects" section in the Seasteading book:

http://seasteading.org/seastead.org/book_alpha/review.html#S...

zach• 18 years ago

I always get a kick out of Patri's work, but it raises the question, why are countries so reluctant to sell or trade territory? Even if it's universally considered short-sighted, well, governments do a lot of short-sighted things. What incentives are missing?

helveticaman• 18 years ago

I wonder if one could buy out the citizens of an existing country instead.

bokonist• 18 years ago

I've wondered that too. Why doesn't Mexico set up a bunch of low-tax, corporate run, special economic zones to attract high tech businesses from the US? With low taxes, low cost of living, and a proper regulatory environment, many businesses would set up shop. Mexico could make an enormous amount of money.

ca98am79• 18 years ago

Peter Thiel is awesome

abas• 18 years ago

It would be cool if they could go out to the "floating garbage continents" and make use of the plastic to build out their colonies.

as• 18 years ago

Things Peter Thiel has funded:

The Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Making sure our eventual AI overlords are benevolent)

Aubrey De Grey's Methuselah Mouse Prize (Research toward ending aging)

The Seasteading Institute (Build your own nation)

I'm really excited about the kind of people the tech boom has made rich.

Peter Thiel Makes Down Payment on Libertarian Ocean Colonies

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