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Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel...has teamed up with the grandson of libertarian icon Milton Friedman, Patri Friedman, to try and develop a “seastead,” or a permanent and autonomous dwelling at sea. Friedman formed the “Seasteading Institute” in 2008, and Thiel has donated more than a million dollars to fund its creation...
they claim a floating city could be just years away. The real trick is finding a proper location to build this twenty-first century Atlantis. Currently, they are attempting to find a host nation that will allow the floating city somewhat close to land, for the calm waters and ability to easily travel to and from the seastead.
In recent years there have been reports of similar efforts, like the Freedom Ship, a floating city designed to house 50,000 people, with a landing strip on top of the vessel.
Such concepts raise the questions, "Can these communities create new social structures when the subconscious societal norms we all grow up with have such a powerful influence on our expectations?" and "Is the ocean really the best place to site these communities, given how powerful, treacherous, and corrosive an environment the sea is?"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Gravis on Thursday March 19 2015, @02:20AM
actually that isnt true at all! right now you can buy entire islands that are sovereign nation-states. a more ideal solution to these seasteads would be to take an existing island and expand it using the same methods as the earth uses to make islands: volcanos. we have all the basic technology to make it happen, we just need to find the right place to drill into the seabed to access magma that is a few miles below instead of hundreds of miles below. however, i think if we really applied ourselves, we could access it anywhere in the sea.
(Score: 2) by PapayaSF on Thursday March 19 2015, @02:38AM
Really? Do you have a cite for that? Because while some rich people have bought entire islands, AFAIK these have all been purely real estate transactions, and no one considerers them separate countries.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Gravis on Thursday March 19 2015, @03:19AM
right now you can buy entire islands that are sovereign nation-states
Really? Do you have a cite for that?
you should read up on micronations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micronation [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 4, Informative) by linuxrocks123 on Thursday March 19 2015, @03:23AM
You mean how they're a joke not recognized by any government?
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2015, @03:29AM
A seastead is potentially a bit less like a micronation. They only need autonomy, not to be recognized. If they can hang around in international waters or make an agreement with some nation, any nation, to stay offshore, it can be realized.
What would cause a nation to come and destroy the project? Drugs? Sex abuse? Gambling? Tax evasion?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2015, @07:00PM
I'd think fear of contamination from a garbage scow full of vile plutocrats would be enough to want to scuttle it.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 19 2015, @08:02PM
> What would cause a nation to come and destroy the project? Drugs? Sex abuse? Gambling? Tax evasion?
Money laundering.
(Score: 2) by Justin Case on Thursday March 19 2015, @07:45PM
> right now you can buy entire islands that are sovereign nation-states
Well, the United States has already been bought, although I suppose the same business model could work elsewhere. Still not sure I'd want to live there.