Seasteading: Libertarians Set to Launch a (Wet) Dream of 'Freedom' in International Waters

[struggle4progress]

By Brad Reed, AlterNet. Posted May 29, 2009.

... One such escape plan currently is being hatched by the Seasteading Institute, a think tank that is encouraging libertarians to build large, floating, concrete platforms in international waters where they can live without the greedy hands of Uncle Sam taking their hard-earned cash.

Seasteading is largely the brainchild of Patri Friedman, a libertarian activist and the grandson of famous right-wing economist Milton Friedman.

In an essay published by the Cato Institute earlier this year, Friedman proclaimed that democracy was "not the answer" for libertarians who wanted to live in true freedom because "libertarians are a minority" and thus "winning electoral victories is a hopeless endeavor."

Friedman said that seasteading was his personal solution to this problem because, "expensive though ocean platforms are, they are still cheap compared to winning a war, an election, or a revolution." Additionally, Friedman pointed out that "the unique nature of the fluid ocean surface means that cities can be built in a modular fashion where entire buildings can be detached and floated away" ...

http://www.alternet.org/politics/140253/seasteading:_libertarians_set_to_launch_a_(wet)_dream_of_'freedom'_in_international_waters/

[MUAD_DIB]

1. What do you call 10,000 Libertarians at the bottom of the Ocean?

[tanyev]

22. A good start.

:rofl:

[MUAD_DIB]

23. I was actually thinking more along the lines of a sunken city.

[silverweb]

2. This will be fun to watch.

I'll follow the story with interest to see if Atlas drowns.

[Arctic Dave]

3. Teh stoopid is overpowering. LOL!

Obviously has never been on an oil platform.

[Chulanowa]

4. I'm laughing so hard

I keep imagining the boat springing a leak, and all the useless fuckers on board going "Isn't MY job!

[lapfog_1]

5. So... I was wondering...

on these floating platforms... probably takes a bit of cooperation from all of the inhabitants. Quite likely there will be shared services like water, sewage, energy, communication, fire fighting, some sort of police function to settle disputes, maybe even a court system... All that takes money, so they will have to charge people to live there... maybe some sort of tax or something.

Hmmmm...

[silverweb]

7. I was thinking the same thing.

Isn't one of the basic tenets of uber-Libertarianism that there can be no such thing as "society" -- just individuals, all acting on behalf of their own interests?

I'm really looking forward to seeing how this all works out.

[imdjh]

13. cocaine revenues

[lapfog_1]

16. Ok... I don't think they will be able to grow it.

and a local market, while interesting, won't keep the economy humming.

That means smuggling... and those platforms will just not make a good smuggling transit point. They kinda stick out. Easy to monitor from space, that sort of thing.

What did you have in mind?

[imdjh]

20. tourism

[lapfog_1]

21. I suppose... a "Vegas" for drugs...

And without the charm of Amsterdam.

But then there is this issue...

Suppose some country (like, say, Indonesia) decides that it doesn't like these floating "countries" and their drug policies... and sends their navy to sink said floating platforms because it offends them in some way.

How do they propose to stop that?

[XemaSab]

6. *paging* Neal Stephenson...

*paging* Neal Stephenson...

Please report to the raft...

[Ozymanithrax]

8. This is Science Fiction...

They better stasy away from Huricanes.

[lapfog_1]

10. cause... ya know, if they DON'T

it will be "every man for himself"!!!

Sink or Swim!!

Oh wait...

[struggle4progress]

18. Yeah, well, they're libertarians

[Ozymanithrax]

9. One other thing?

With all the problems we are having with pirates, this strikes me as not too well thought out.

[lapfog_1]

12. They could float out to the middle of the Pacific Vortex

and fish trash out of the sea for the next few centuries.

Not much danger from Pirates there.

[Ozymanithrax]

15. There is a continet of plastic out there...

They could burn it for power.

[lapfog_1]

17. Or recycle (gasp) for

the rest of us. Not quite a continent yet, more like 1.5 times the state of Texas.

Still, even sending out skimmers to cover more territory, that's a lot of plastic out there.

[Lasher]

11. Why don't they just move to Somalia?

It's the perfect libertarian vacation getaway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QDv4sYwjO0

[lapfog_1]

14. LOL... "I have Chlorella"...

That was funny...

[metapunditedgy]

19. Isn't this how the video game "Bioshock" begins? No, really. n/t