Seasteading

1
Seasteading

• The How and Why of Creating New Sovereign
  Territory On The Oceans
• By Patri Friedman

Presentation given at FreedomFest, 5/15/2004
2
What is Seasteading

• Definition To Homestead The Oceans
• Term coined by Wayne Gramlich
• Also refers to our specific approach

3
The Book

• Seasteading A Practical Guide to Homesteading
  the High Seas
• Currently in draft form
• Available online at http//seastead.org/
• Will be self-published later this year

4
Two-Part Talk

• Why to build seasteads
• Reduce the size and scope of government
• How to build seasteads
• Quick outline to pique interest
• Much greater detail in book / on website

5
Why Build Seasteads?

• Libertarian Viewpoint
• Solution to the robust and ubiquitous growth of
  government

6
Laissez-Faire Efficient but Not Stable?

• We have detailed theories about the benefits of a
  free economy.
• We have empirical evidence that free economies
  work.
• Yet disappointing empirical evidence for the
  stability and robustness of economic freedom.
• More democracy, more government spending.

7
Why Government Spending?

• Democracy
• Public Choice Theory
• Rational Ignorance of Voters
• Concentrated vs. Dispersed Interests

8
Rhetoric Is Not Enough

• Many libertarians try to fix things through
  rhetoric converting people.
• But the problem stems from the system and the
  incentives it creates for individuals.
• Resistant to rhetoric.

9
Incentives

• People respond to changes in incentives
• Government has bad incentive structure
• Technology is a powerful way to change
  incentives.
• The technology of floating cities will
  dramatically change the incentives facing
  governments.

10
The Industry of Government
Two Features Make It Inefficient

• High cost of switching providers
• Leave job
• Sell House
• Pack possessions
• Apply for citizenship
• Poor market feedback
• Exploitation not innovation.

• Huge barrier to entry
• Consider Iraq
• All land is claimed, and sovereignty is not for
  sale
• Give me liberty or give me death only gets you
  a small plot of land
• Few firms
• Little competition

11
Government on Modular Floating Cities

• Low barrier to entry
• Buy Land, Theyve Stopped Making It becomes
  false.
• Build new territory.
• Dont have to win an election or fight a
  revolution to have a new country.
• Build piece by piece as necessary.

• Low cost of switching
• Territory can be dynamically re-arranged because
  ocean is fluid.
• Entire buildings can move between political
  jurisdictions (the ultimate federalism).
• Easy to leave means hard to exploit.

12
Result Government Becomes a Competitive Industry

• On land we have a small number of large, static
  service providers who poorly serve customers.
• On the ocean, we will get a large number of
  small, dynamic, innovative firms competing.
• Like any industry, we can be confident that
  competition will make government more efficient
  and effective without knowing exactly how.
• Incentives, not political conversion.

13
Optimistic or Pessimistic?

• Raises serious doubts about how much freedom we
  can get on land
• Geography of space even more fluid than ocean.
• Necessary feature holds for 71 of the earths
  surface and 99.99999 of the universe.

14
How to Build Floating Cities

• Structure
• Infrastructure (Power, Water, Food)
• Strategy How to get from here to there.
• (Skipping Wind, Waves, Currents, International
  Politics, Piracy, Alternate Designs,
  Communications, Waste Disposal, Environmental
  Impact, Market, Government Design, Defense,
  Community, Previous Attempts, etc)

15
Design Basics

• Submerged flotation chamber, ballast
• Multi-level platform
• Long spar

16
Design Features

• Spar presents low cross-sectional area to waves.
• Doesnt rock like a boat.
• Free-floating (can be anchored).
• Multiple platforms can be connected in a
  hexagonal grid.
• Ferrocement - cheap and durable.
• Cost 25-150/sq. ft. (labor, materials,
  infrastructure)

17
Infrastructure

• Already a solved problem (think cruise ships)
• Many things will be imported.
• Power - solar panels, wind turbines, diesel
  generators. Eventually wave power. (No OTEC)
• Water - captured rainwater, reverse osmosis.
• Food - mostly imported, some vegetables grown in
  hydroponic greenhouses, local aquaculture.

18
How Not To Make It Happen

• Depend on nonexistent/undeveloped technologies
  (OTEC, seacrete).
• Depend on the appearance of a mysterious angel
  investor.
• Trying to get investment or donations with no
  proof of concept.
• Trying to tackle too big a problem at once.

19
How To Make It Happen

• Stick to realistic and mature technologies.
• Have reasonable ideas for funding.
• Demonstrate the concept before expecting outside
  money.
• Incrementalism a series of small, reasonable
  stages.

20
Our Plan

• Book / Website / Publicity
• Baystead Prototype
• 10,000 sq. ft.
• Moored in San Francisco Bay.
• Tourist attraction.
• Funded by 5-10 initial residents, cost 300K -
  600K.
• Seastead Timeshare Resort
• International waters (perhaps Med. Sea)
• Cost 3M - 15M.
• A few permanent residents, many vacationers.

21
The Future

• Getting started is the hardest part.
• Over time, economy will evolve beyond just a
  resort.
• Number of permanent residents will increase.
• Additional platforms/groups built.
• Show the world by example, not argument.
• Live as we want regardless of what they do.

22
Acknowledgements

• Co-authors Wayne Gramlich and Andy House.

23

• http//seastead.org/

Questions?