A new way of innovating in politics has been put forward by the ‘Seasteading Institute’. Built on an extension of the homesteading philosophy, the institute sees this as a way of establishing new communities at sea experimenting with different forms of politics, with the best practices being adopted by countries across the world.
The mission of the institute is “To Further the establishment and growth of permanent, autonomous ocean communities, enabling innovation with new political and social systems‘.
As this video points out, there is little real political innovation out there and many countries kill their own people whilst exercising their form of social cohesion.
As the institute points out, to find something better you have to experiment with something new. In the UK we generally use Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or one of the dependencies to do this.
But what if political entrepreneurs had the outlet that business entrepreneurs have? No more toeing a mainstream political party line that you don’t really believe in just to get a seat at the table so you can push your own ideas.
Don’t change your country, set up a competing one!
It’s a great idea. But of course in reality you still need money and lots of it to achieve such a dream. Rich entrepreneurs only need apply. After all, no-one will lend money to someone on the premise that there is no well established law governing that loan. Who is really likely to put their money into a system that changes the banking system the loaned money was derived from?
Many countries also claim huge tracts of the ocean as their own (just look at the claims to the Arctic now they think there is an untold wealth of oil underneath the ice). Trying to find a suitable site may prove problematic for the larger type of settlement.
Some of the legalities may also be difficult to overcome. A state or independent country has space or territory with internationally recognised boundaries. What if two of these communities set up in close proximity for example and disputes occurred?
It would also need independent sovereign power and the ability to support, police and defend its own people. These are not small concerns.
Overall, a great and fresh idea, but the practicalities may prove to be an obstacle too far.
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Tags: entrepreneur, innovation, Politics, seasteading
While I think it would very cool to have independent island states, I agree that some sort of partnership with larger land based governments would be needed. What would stop a hostile nation or terrorist group from sending in armed troops to conquer the floating island state?
If there was a global agreement to protect these “free states” then I think we could see these prosper in the next century. Imagine if dozens or hundreds of these existed with the economic freedom that say, Hong Kong or Singapore enjoys today.
The future could be exciting indeed.
Over the course of the next century, such “free zones” whether on land, sea, or even space could greatly enhance human life. Imagine the advantages science and technology might enjoy if they were not so heavily burdened with taxes and oppressive regulation. Personal freedoms could be expanded. The current trend around the world is less and less freedom for individuals. It would fantastic if we could reverse that.