Welcome to “Libertarian Island”: How these One Percenters are creating a dystopian nightmare

[DonViejo]

Take Ayn Rand, some tech billionaires and Rand Paul -- and the result is a scary new movement. Here's their plan

CONOR LYNCH

In the clever science fiction video game Bioshock, an Objectivist business magnate named Andrew Ryan (recognize those initials?) creates an underwater city, where the world’s elite members can flourish free from the controls of government. It is a utopian village that Ayn Rand and her hero John Galt would surely approve of, but unfortunately it ends up becoming a dystopian nightmare after class distinctions form (what a shocker) and technological innovation gets out of hand. It was a hell of a video game, for those of you into that kind of thing.

But I don’t bring up Bioshock to talk about video games. I bring it up because there is currently a similar movement happening in real life, and it is being funded by another rather eccentric businessman, the Paypal billionaire Peter Thiel. As some may already know, Thiel has teamed up with the grandson of libertarian icon Milton Friedman, Patri Friedman, to try and develop a “seastead,” or a permanent and autonomous dwelling at sea. Friedman formed the “Seasteading Institute” in 2008, and Thiel has donated more than a million dollars to fund its creation.

It is all very utopian, to say the least. But on the website, they claim a floating city could be just years away. The real trick is finding a proper location to build this twenty-first century atlantis. Currently, they are attempting to find a host nation that will allow the floating city somewhat close to land, for the calm waters and ability to easily travel to and from the seastead.

The project has been coined “libertarian island,” and it reveals a building movement within Silicon Valley; a sort of free market techno-capitalist faction that seems to come right out of Ayn Rand’s imagination. And as with all utopian ideologies, it is very appealing, especially when you live in a land where everything seems possible, with the proper technological advancements.

more
http://www.salon.com/2015/03/16/welcome_to_libertarian_island_how_silicon_valley_billionaires_are_creating_a_capitalist_nightmare/

[underpants]

1. The Libertarians great idea is to make a floater?

[GreatGazoo]

9. + #2

[NV Whino]

2. I have long advocated underwater hotels

Located off the coast of New Orleans to replace the barrier reefs and wetlands that we have destroyed. This is at the opposite end of the spectrum in that it would actually preserve something other than the 1%.

They would lessen the impact of hurricanes as the reefs once did, and once again create the shallows to support wetland inhabitants.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. oh the irony, to have to ask permission of a host nation ...

sort of negates the whole Libertarian principle from the get go, does it not?

[n2doc]

4. They tried in Chile

Didn't work out too well
http://www.vice.com/read/atlas-mugged-922-v21n10

[Man from Pickens]

5. Not sure how they can pull that off

Seems that you'd have to run a floating city a bit like any other ship - with a captain in command as dictator. Otherwise how do you stop anyone from doing something that could literally sink the entire thing?

[hunter]

6. Silly wealthy people...

... have no idea how many land-based technical services and how much filthy hands-on work it takes to keep a big boat running smoothly.

They're going to be pretty damned miserable when the vacuum sewage system fails for lack of a part they can't manufacture on board, and everyone, from the lowliest servant to the occupants of the most magnificent suite has to poop with their butts hanging out over the lower deck railings.

[alarimer]

7. "Screw you, I've got mine."

That is the entirety of the libertarian philosophy in a nutshell. Why do people ignore history? We've done libertarianism before, during the robber-baron era. All lack of regulation leads to is dead and sick workers making a pittance working 6 days a week, massive monopolies and filthy rich owners.

Libertarians=assholes.

[mercuryblues]

8. how will they deal with the first hurricane