Seasteaders Wish to Flee Government On High Seas
The Seasteading Movement Wants to Dump States by Taking to the Water
© Jon Pike
May 29, 2009
The idea of a libertarian enclave away from the control of government has been the dream of libertarian’s probably at least since the publication of Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. In that novel, people who wanted to be beyond the control of a government that wanted to sap their abilities retired to a section of property in Colorado known as Galt’s Gulch, named after the libertarian hero of the novel. The problem with such a plan though, is that such a terrestrial outpost would still be within the reach of a government. But, perhaps taking a cue from the other name used for this refuge, Atlantis, a group of contemporary libertarians are proposing to take to the high seas to found a libertarian micronation in a practice called seasteading.
Seasteading, Micronations, and International Law
Those who attempt to set up micro-nations, small enclaves that claim independence from nation states, or propose some sort of experiment in same, such as seasteading could be created as matter of international law, in which nations can only extend territorial control out to 200 miles beyond a coastline. Outside of such zones, the high seas are only subject to the jurisdiction of the flag under which a ship sails. Theoretically, people could set up a micro-nation, or extra-territorial enclave beyond such zones.
One of the co-founders of the Seasteading Institute is the grandson of libertarian icon, Milton Friedman, Patri Friedman. The idea is to construct modular, semi-permanent platforms, on which people could engage in the construction of a new society free from government. The Institute’s website says that the foundation has raised over $500,000 dealers. The organization has attracted the attention of libertarian entrepreneur , and found of Pay Pal, Peter Thiel.
Why Do Libertarians Wish To Take To The Sea?
Patri Friedman is sold on the idea of taking to the seas, because he sees libertarians as always being outside of the electoral mainstream and, as “expensive though ocean platforms are, they are still cheap compared to winning a war, an election, or a revolution." Seasteaders have its own manifesto, which outlines how they plan to accomplish their goal and deal with problems. The sea stead platforms hope to raise money to support themselves by giving people a safe, and legal outlet for people to flout drug and patent laws. The seasteaders admit, that, at least at first, they would be vulnerable to pirates, and to countries that do not wish to recognize them. The movement, however, believes that their success would give them the economic and political clout to deal with nation states.
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