Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Seasteading? I hope they get ransacked by pirates!

...former Google software engineer, (Patri) Friedman is 32 but comes off much younger, with close-cropped hair and a slightly nasal voice. He is executive director of the Seasteading Institute, the nonprofit he founded in April 2008..."This isn't enough to create a whole new civilization," Friedman says. "But this is a seed."

This story is about people who want to build platforms in the ocean and create their own little nations on them. Hey, if that's what you want, go for it. But these people seem like rich brats intent on getting their own way all the time. Fuck them, I hope their "seasteads" get invaded, raided, and destroyed...

7 comments:

Ceroill said...

Hey, every new movement sounds wacky at firs. Actually this is not the first I've heard of this idea, but it's the biggest organization of it. I say good luck to em, but they will discover that being an independent nation is a lot more of a headache than they probably imagine at this point. There are innumerable details and points that have to be dealt with, from currency to stamps, to flags, to foreing policy, establishing yourself and getting your nation recognized. Just try making trade deals with a bigger country that doesn't even admit you exist. Now, if what you want is just to be a seabound hermit or monastery type setup, isolated and self contained/sufficient, that's different. That's a different kind of challenge, and still not easy.

Anonymous said...

I'll bet they don't build off the east coast of Africa. Just think how the Somali pirates would celebrate.

BAWDYSCOT said...

"But these people seem like rich brats intent on getting their own way all the time."

I am certainly not rich and I would like to think I am not a brat, but since I rarely get my way any time, maybe I should look into this new phenomenon. I might get my way some of the time.

csm said...

Hmmm... worried about "getting your way"? Sounds bratty to me... ;-)

BAWDYSCOT said...

Hey, csm, how appealing would this idea have been to you, smack dab in the middle of the recent hell we went through(GW Tush)?

Ceroill said...

It has long been a pipe dream of mine to own my own island nation somewhere...but I've also always known it was just that. It's nice to fantasize about, but the practicalities in this day and age are formidable.

csm said...

Not appealing at all. A platform in the ocean does not a nation make.