Libertarianland
Pay Pal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel has given $1.25 million to an initiative to create floating libertarian countries in international waters
I wouldn’t get my hopes up on being recognized as a country though. That club is pretty exclusive. And, of course, there are pirates.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:09 am
There is this counter to the pirates called whatever weapon you want… 40mm bofors bring it on in..
August 18th, 2011 at 10:17 am
Am I the only one who saw this article and thought “Hey, Bioshock in real life!”?
August 18th, 2011 at 10:30 am
Sounds like a remake of Waterworld. Probably with the same end result. Big budget production with minimal returns.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:47 am
Actually, I say let them do it. Why not? If they can build this paradise and it works, then great. If it fails, or partially fails, we can learn from it.
I’d worry less about pirates than countries with armies.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:49 am
Maybe he should lower the fees that Pay Pal robs from their clients First. Oh, he probably only owns stock now. Sorry.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:40 am
If it’s the guy who started PayPal, considering PayPal’s anti-gun sentiment, I figure they’ll be unarmed and easy prey for Somali pirates.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:41 am
Don’t forget, minimal weapons laws.
I imagine the defenses will be marvelous.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
You might have one or two attacks, early on. Then they would realize that attacking a libertarian settlement is a Very Bad Idea.
I’d worry more about some nation deciding they don’t like the idea. It wouldn’t take much of a navy to establish an effective blockade of something like that. Fish and seaweed only go so far as a food source, and unless you build it around a working drilling rig and refinery, fuel would become scarce very quickly. Not to mention materials for manufacturing pretty much anything.
I like the idea of establishing a libertarian nation, but something like what he proposes would be entirely too vulnerable.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:24 pm
Pirates? So, the pirates show up the first time, get shot to pieces. Second they show up, they go to the casinos, opium dens and whoreshouses. Much better deal.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
My son responded to news reports about Somali pirates by asking what exactly was required to take over a backward country and become its dictator.
I think that model is more likely to lead to success than getting UN recognition of oil drilling platforms or large anchored barges.
My son is graduating next year with a degree in International Business, emphasizing Central and South American economies. If I were El Salvador or Nicaragua, I’d keep an eye on that boy.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:07 pm
As I recall, PayPal didn’t become gun unfriendly until EBay bought them.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Floating city needs trade goods? How about biofuels from Algae?
August 18th, 2011 at 2:26 pm
Veeshir, I would bet you $10 that the whole “no guns thru paypal” think was from yet another cowardly lawyer than the founder.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:53 pm
Didn’t Red Jacket just build a suppressor for the Mark 19 grenade launcher?
You can blow the pirates out of the water without disturbing the neighbors!
My older brother had the idea to have libertarians buy up a bunch of land and claim sovereignty!
On an unrelated note: how much would Maine cost? NH could secede and join in!
August 18th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
The problem is that all the unclaimed spaces are either too remote or too problematic to be self sustaining.
Sure, you can set up a settlement on Queen Maude land in Antarctica, or in mid ocean ( don’t bother with shoals, they are all claimed, since fishing fleets like them ) … but how on earth would you make it pay for itself?
August 18th, 2011 at 6:22 pm
If they want respect, they’ll need a few nukes.