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

[Mari333]

'Gone largely unnoticed, however, has been a fringe brand of libertarians who have been planning to escape the iron fist of democracy by founding a new country in the middle of the ocean.'

'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.'

http://www.alternet.org/politics/140253/seasteading:_libertarians_set_to_launch_a_(wet)_dream_of_%27freedom%27_in_international_waters/

and here is their website

http://seasteading.org/

hey little turtle wouldja like to take a swim with me...

[Dappleganger]

1. "Largely unnoticed"

seems an apt description of Paultards.

[Happyhippychick]

2. Is this a joke?

[Mari333]

4. nope. :))

[Happyhippychick]

5. Uh....

:rofl:
:rofl:
:rofl:

[derby378]

3. Sealand 2.0, here we come...

I give the project three weeks.

[anigbrowl]

9. They've actually been going for a couple years already

As I said below, they're not particularly ideological; if anything they're apolitical and would like to have a space to do things without necessarily wrapping themselves in a corporate legal structure with all the social complexity that entails.

[MattBaggins]

19. The funny thing is that the corporations will be the first to take them down.

As soon as they set up servers allowing places like PirateBay to operate they will corporations from around the world coming at them with a Navy of lawyers.

[Ikonoklast]

6. Not far enough away.

I want them to go John Galt themselves off the planet.

[RandomThoughts]

7. A guy did that already, somewhere in Mexico.

A guy got together 1000's of empty plastic bottles from peoples throw aways, tied them together, put a mat over them, then put dirt over that.

http://ecoble.com/2007/11/18/250000-bottles-amazing-recycled-mexican-island-paradise/


There was also a story about some corporations thinking of putting their corporate hq and computers on a ship and sailing in International waters.

http://www.tangible-ip.com/2008/googles-floating-data-centres-and-international-ip.htm

However, using the same logic as many republicans. As soon as any group goes to international waters to stop what they create in their mind as the boogeyman of government. They lose something else, the ability to self defend. So wait till they float out their with whatever goods they think should not be taxed. Then once they are set up, send in the marines and take over the island and retake all its assets.

I of coarse do not believe in war or those methods, but it is funny how people make claims to things for various reasons, and how those claims can be made by anyone really easily.

My comment is mostly in jest, but many that have that Ann Rand idea have not thought it through at all, its pretty comical. :rofl:

[anigbrowl]

8. I think this is a bit unfair

The seasteaders do have a libertarian bent, but they're also trying to address the genuine issue that there's no land left to discover/move into. Building at sea is fraught with risks and complications, but potentially more sustainable than setting up shop in, say, the Australian desert and less confrontational than trying to buy land in, say, Africa where people's land rights would be infringed.

The project is technologically oriented, it could be just as interesting to social collectivists as to libertarians.

[RandomThoughts]

Building land as a form of terraforming sounds like a good idea.

But as a claim to leave society like in Ann Rand fashion, would be silly.

[anigbrowl]

12. I don't get that impression from them

Of course there are Ayn Rand libertarian types on their website, it's natural that such people would find the project interesting. But that's not what they're 'about' any more than internet-philes like myself who champion the net as a tool for personal empowerment are deeply opposed to anything that smacks of altruism or cooperation. To me the seasteading thing has a lot more in common with hippy communes than it does with rapacious capitalists.

[PeteytehMawnstar]

11. +1

There's been a few examples of groups and individuals trying to find new ways to gain independent sovereignty or claiming that last little island in the sea. But i think it's predominantly libertarians who have been trying it for the last two or three decades.

I'd go, it might be fun.

TO the OP,

You were only half right with the ironfist of democracy, iron fist yes, democracy no.

[Posteritatis]

10. Not that it likely will, but if it does work, more power to them

I fail the big-L-libertarian test hardcore and I'm generally proud of it, but I'm also sympathetic to the idea of people putting their money where their mouth is as far as building stuff like this goes. If they actually put shovel to earth (or the equivalent), good on them for trying, even if it doesn't work out; if it did work out, well, that would be interesting too.

(Then again, I've always thought micronations as a concept are kind of neat, and there's room for overlap with the pursuit of the kind of self-sufficiency that helps long-term sustainability.)

[MisterP]

13. hahaha! these are the pig-headed gits who think gun control and wildlife protection are UN plots,

that seat belts and clean food and drinking water are scary nanny-state feet-in-the-door to Ingsoc, OSHA and the Education Department should be abolished, that non-HMO healthcare and minimum wages attack a basic human right (i.e., to buy everything on a marketplace and choose between selling themselves and starving), and that * was a closet Commie because he increased the overall size of the government (ignoring that he deregulated and tried to privatize like there was no tomorrow, and was as gun-crazy as they are)
just wait till they find out the hard way humanity relies on working-class schlubs and that nature isn't some static, cornucopian buffet that never runs out
they'll probably get cut adrift--and then their ideal of selfishness will spark off the Battle Royale...

[NorthernSpy]

14. Bet it ends up just like The Wreck of the Medusa...

In short order, the Navy will have to go save them.

[Canuckistanian]

15. A community of libertarians?

That should be fun to watch.

Alert the Coast Guard to prepare for floating wreckage that could impede the shipping lanes.

[Mari333]

16. lol

on the plus side, you can pee right off your front porch.

[MattBaggins]

20. Yeah because a flimsy giant raft

that needs a well oiled team to keep from sinking to the bottom of the ocean; is just the right place for a bunch of "me myself and I" types.

[NoPasaran]

17. "large, floating, concrete"

Does anyone see a problem with this premise?

[Howardx]

21. never been to seattle then?

travelled on the evergreen point floating bridge? floating concrete is 50's technology.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[JuniperLea]

23. History of concrete ships...

http://www.concreteships.org/history/

[MattBaggins]

18. Take their hard earned cash

How do they propose to make this "hard stolen" cash? Oh they I bet they expect us to allow them free reign in our country to make money with no expectation to return to society. Won't they get a little surprise.