Seasteading: A Legitimate Alternative to Living Somewhere

Homesteading the ocean
http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/OPINION/805010334&template=printart

Normally, we only hear about spoiled Hollywood types threatening to withdraw their illuminating presence from America’s shores if U.S. policies aren’t amended to their liking. (By the way, has Alec Baldwin left yet?) But there’s also another category of people, a bit more serious, thinking about leaving their homeland behind.Earlier this month, a California non-profit called The Seasteading Institute announced its intent to create “autonomous ocean communities,” where people of a certain mind-set can settle, sustain their own needs and govern themselves. At first blush these “seasteaders” sound a bit wacky, like a cult trying to start a maritime commune. Phrases like “the world needs a new model of politic,” and “the nature of government is about to change at a very fundamental level” smack of utopianism.   The idea of oceanic communities, even city-states, beyond the reach of governments isn’t new. The Principality of Sealand was founded in 1967 by a pirate radio operator on an old World War II anti-aircraft tower off the coast of England. Today, near Costa Rica, Celestopea is trying to build an eco-friendly floating community. Then there’s the Freedom Ship, a plan (still mostly on paper) for a huge ocean-going vessel housing 40,000 people. Lack of money is usually the downfall of such projects. The Freedom Ship, for example, would cost billions, and funding has been hard to find. Another snag such projects typically run into is their motivations to either save the planet or foster an ideology. Often they have a decidedly new-age outlook. On close inspection, however, the seasteaders seem to be cut from a different cloth.Instead of preaching any particular ideology, they’re interested in technologically enabling a new era of “micro-countries,” free to experiment with various political systems. That gives the institute a pragmatism other efforts have lacked. These are incrementalists, not wild-eyed revolutionaries. The technologies and construction techniques they propose are practical and affordable today. Moreover, they’re willing to start small and build from there. Visit www.seastead ing.org. Most importantly, they’re apparently getting jump-started with some big bucks. According to their press release, venture capitalist Peter Thiel is backing the institute with a half-million-dollar investment. Thiel is the guy who helped found Pay-Pal and backed the booming social networking portal FaceBook. He and his hedge fund, Clarium Capital, have a reputation for backing winners. According to Reason magazine, one of the reasons Thiel became so interested is the background of the institute’s founder and executive director, Patri Friedman. Patri, a software engineer, is a passionate advocate for free trade and libertarian ideals. His father, economist David Friedman, wrote “Machinery of Freedom,” the bible of so-called anarcho-capitalism. His grandfather (you guessed it) is Milton Friedman, champion of free-market economics and author of the classic “Capitalism and Freedom.” While I have trouble with the whole concept of abandoning society (and couldn’t stand being cooped up on a man-made island), a project with this kind of pedigree, practical ideas, workable technology and financial backing bears close watching. See more at www.thiscouldgetinterest ing.com. Tad Trueblood has more than 20 years in the U.S. Air Force and the national security community. He blogs at www.thiscouldget interesting.com.