Patri Friedman on Seasteading
Via Chris Moody of Cato: Patri Friedman will be speaking on seasteading at the Cato Institute Tuesday, April 7.
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To dissolve, submerge, and cause to disappear the political or governmental system in the economic system by reducing, simplifying, decentralizing and suppressing, one after another, all the wheels of this great machine, which is called the Government or the State. --Proudhon, General Idea of the Revolution
6 Comments:
"Freedom Ship officials make no bones that 'the captain’s word will be final.'"
Floating Utopias: The degraded imagination of the libertarian seasteaders
By China Mieville
I'm not familiar with the "Freedom Ship," but that article is a shameful and childish misrepresentation of libertarianism.
Hi Kevin, thanks for posting info about the talk!
Yeah I agree with Andrew, that article definitely has some inaccuracies, aside from the fact that the author clearly hates libertarians. For example, he characterizes libertarians at one point as failed capitalists, suggesting that we don't believe in freedom for its own sake but merely because we tried to win big under statism and came out dry. Or the constant allusions to Reagan and Pinochet, etc.
Some of his concerns like ships with thousands of private police with deadly weapons enforcing the captain's dictatorial will are legitimate; but it's hard to take the good parts of the article seriously because of the constant smearing and condescension toward libertarians.
One of the most entertaining articles on that site is not about seasteading but a link to another blogger who is quite talented and takes up the matter, indirectly. Check him out: http://unqualified-reservations.blogspot.com/2009/05/democraphobia-goes-slightly-viral.html
Why don`t these seasteaders start off by providing services, such as long-term contracts with island nations to defend their fisheries and EEZs against illegal exploitation?
They could do well by doing good, and attract plenty of positive attention that way.
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