I’ve always wondered if Freedom Ship is an outright scam, as they clearly don’t have any of the money, but they keep popping up to make noises about how the project is still alive and they’ll be doing construction soon. (Most recently in late 2013, it appears.) Uh huh, sure. I’m not even sure what the point of it is, since unlike other similar plans, it’s not even a tax dodge.
I really want to see someone build their own little aquatic “Galt’s Gulch” and then realize that the whole thing is completely unworkable. Ideally after they get attacked by pirates.
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In addition to fantasizing about no taxes or regulations, these folks also have Gary Sue dreams of mowing down swarthy invaders with machine guns and nuclear hand grenades . . . so bring on the pirates!
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The point appears to be doing an end-run around the broken immigration system. You can have foreign workers write your code just off the coast, making face-to-face meetings a short boat or helicopter ride away to international waters rather than a trip around the world, and all without visa requirements or even American salaries.
But I don’t know what kind of performance you can expect out of a boat load of oppressed workers.
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I’m thinking of starting a “Better World” Kickstarter, but not sure what $$ value I need to set as a goal… What’s the going rate for a black market tomahawk missile?
edit for more better grammar 
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This kind of thing isn’t about freedom. It’s about wealthy people who have dreams of becoming absolute monarchs over a tiny floating kingdom, complete with their own military to defend against pirates. They then imagine that they can do business, but it is unclear who will enforce any contracts drawn up, or what they do when their own muscle rebels and makes them walk the plank.
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The most hilarious thing about this whole concept:
90% of the residents are going to be code-grinding peons whose highly curtailed work lives will be ruled by tryannical AGILE development cycles, chasing the brass ring to get some tiny sliver of company stock so they can imagine they’re part of the glory. After their 12 hour work day and a couple of hours in some bleak Star Wars themed pub they’ll slouch to a tiny studio crammed with licensed-property toys and console gear and play video games.
But hey, FREEDOM!
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I think I can overcome my desire for such a venture to graphically demonstrate how naive I feel these sorts of pipedreams are and just appreciate the engineering aspects of them. And finally seeing what would happen rather than relying on speculation would be pretty interesting.
Plus how much harm can they really do? Let 'em try. Maybe whatever is learned in the process will be useful to the world at large someday.
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I suspect that there are many ways to be…persuasive; but that anyone whose time is valuable enough to put them on an offshore code mill probably won’t do better work for having suffered them. If you want to enslave code monkeys, you just pay them in stock options structured to become worthless during the VC cash-in, they work harder that way.
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It’s actually eerily similar to patriotism, but aimed at people who are sufficiently egocentric that collective ‘national glory’ doesn’t motivate them.
Same getting-the-shit-end-in-real-terms-to-bask-in-the-glow-of-a-pure-ideal-in-theoretical-terms.
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Why do these libertarian dreams always involve feudalism?
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Columbus Was A Dope.
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The one inviolable requirement that would make such floatopias a great idea would be “no return” policies. No visas, no vacation visits, no “changed heart” boomerangs. None.
The first of these floatopias could be called “Golding’s Hollow”.
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Or “Never-Never Land,” since there are a lot of people there who Won’t Grow Up?
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Fitting, since many would likely be mistaken for Gepetto’s progeny.
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While I think capitalist libertarian fantasy-states are simply not going to happen in reality, arguing “who will do the grunt work?” seems like a pretty weak argument. Presumably in such a state you could get people to do unpleasant work through financial motivation. This argument holds more water in regard to socialist utopias; it is unclear who would do unpleasant work if money doesn’t exist, unless there are some group of people who get off on swabbing decks or something.
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I am actually all for seastedding. I would like us get to a point where you can plop down your own little micronation. Why? Honestly, I think that democracy really has gotten stale. Every time there is a revolution somewhere they slap down another congressional or parliamentary democracy, and they always have the same tried and true problems. They are absolute shit at dealing with ethnic conflicts, they are only marginally better than a dictatorship in terms of controlling bribery, leaders are selected using a game that require you to be a lying sociopath to win, etc.
I want to see people try something different. Some sort of flexible microstate that can expand if it works frankly sounds awesome. If libertarian utopianist want to lead the charge, have at it. I just want it to get to the point where it is feasible for people with other flavors of government in mind to give it a go. I personally am all sorts of game for a government where there are no elections or parties, but instead citizens are drafted by lottery to serve and there are no elections or single executive authorities. Make the terms rolling so that there is never a surge or n00bs to the government, just a continuous flow in and out. Sure, you never will get people with mountains of experience, but frankly, I think any politician with “experience” is a fucked individual who has done fucked things to hold power so long.
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Wouldn’t such an economic model lead to the very rich and the very poor with no middle class?
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The British Navy has some history books it would like to show you…
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