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Wouldn't "countries" like this be super vulnerable to attack? A few well-placed charges and it's like the place never existed.
They will probably fly a flag of convenience. No state actor (well, maybe North Korea) will attack what is basically a cruise ship. Pirates might be a problem.
Wouldn't "countries" like this be super vulnerable to attack? A few well-placed charges and it's like the place never existed.
I love the "libertarian" basis for it as well - loose building codes, few weapons restrictions - just what you need in an experimental floating structure thousands of miles from help!
Better invest in lots of defences... If you're an independent micro-country, nobody's going to rush to defend you from pirates.
The risk-reward isn't there for pirates. Seasteads will likely be well-armed, populated, far from Somalia and other pirate operating areas, and lack the large material payload of a cargo ship or oil-tanker.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The risk-reward isn't there for pirates. Seasteads will likely be well-armed, populated, far from Somalia and other pirate operating areas, and lack the large material payload of a cargo ship or oil-tanker.
I'd guess that a lot of rich people will inhabit them, at least at first. Ransom can be pricy.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I love the "libertarian" basis for it as well - loose building codes, few weapons restrictions - just what you need in an experimental floating structure thousands of miles from help!
I thought that was an odd thing for the article to focus on, too. When I think of something like this being libertarian, a far different picture emerges, like being free from the nanny-state and its attempts to infiltrate my life.
Like a piece of software, over hundreds of iterations and modifications, assuming the developers are good, a state can become pretty good - powerful enough to give its users what they want, but not monolithic and overburdened with features.
Features we need: environmental regulations, food safety, building codes, healthcare.
Of course, you can tell you've got feature-creep when your state starts building stealth bombers.
The trouble with these "micro-states" is they're starting from scratch. For the first hundred years or so, you'll be able to buy toys that can kill your kids, you'll have buildings that randomly explode, and a broken/nonexistent healthcare system.
Fortunately for the sane, we don't need to risk our families' lives and wellbeing in an unproven, buggy state. Mature, well-tested states are available!
Basically this guy is keeping it close to San Francisco so that he can earn him money here and suck it over to his amusement park.
If he really believed in "libertarianism" he would just do it without the money and see how he can prosper then. But alas, the super rich are not like everyone else.
Edit: Of course, nobody would actually be living in these places other than system admins. All the available space would be stuffed with servers to run the above services.
Wouldn't "countries" like this be super vulnerable to attack? A few well-placed charges and it's like the place never existed.