Love It or Seastead - A strategy for the Middle East
By Eric Jacobus
To remind [King George III] that our ancestors, before their emmigration to America, were the free inhabitants of the British dominions in Europe, and possessed a right which nature has given to all men, of departing from the country in which chance, not choice, has placed them, of going in quest of new habitations, and of there establishing new societies, under such laws and regulations as to them shall seem most likely to promote public happiness.
-Thomas Jefferson, The Rights of British America
In the recent protests erupting in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and multiple other countries, protesters have taken to the streets accusing their governments of corruption, human rights abuses, and political oppression. With the help of the international community, overthrowing these old-fashioned governments seems to be the order of the day. But what of those who don't wish to take part in the revolutions, who want to avoid the bloodshed on both sides? What about those who embrace the love-it-or-leave-it philosophy of Jefferson, the nature-given right of travel, and wish to simply walk away? Seasteading could provide that opportunity.
The love-it-or-leave-it philosophy once carried serious weight. As Andrew of Evolify explains, hunter-gatherer tribes faced certain hardship if their members became disillusioned and left, because a tribe could function best with an optimal number of tribes people. Since having too few members of a tribe could make it more difficult to hunt and protect one another, threatening to leave was actually a threat and cooperation was actively sought. The "threat" of leaving to the frontier lasted until modern day, when all land has been claimed and governed. Protesters in the Middle East now see toppling the government as their only recourse against government they dislike. What will the results be? We'll see, but in Egypt's case, this won't be the first time a revolution has taken place. Without new land to settle, is it inevitable that other Egyptian generations will revolt again in the future?
The Middle East and North Africa might be continuing a vicious cycle due to the lack of a frontier. The ability to expand, experiment with, and establish new governments is an option that seasteading can provide. Seasteading enables the dejected to leave peacefully, hearkening back to the hunter-gatherer mentality of "treat me badly and I'll leave." Those who wish to stay and fight for their territory will always have the option. Corrupt governments, worried about losing citizens to innovative startup countries, may be more willing to cooperate peacefully with reforms, greatly reducing violence and preventing the loss of lives.
The Seasteading Institute Welcomes Brittany Benjamin
My name is Brit and I am The Seasteading Institute’s new administrative assistant. My first few weeks at The Seasteading Institute have shown me exactly how much a dynamic team of mission-minded individuals can accomplish and I am excited to be part of the seasteading community. I would like to use my space within this newsletter to express some feminist-oriented ideas that initially drew me toward seasteading.
As is noted in many parts of the seasteading information base, "all land is already claimed" and therefore, it is extremely difficult to initiate new forms of governance. The anti-egalitarian elements of patriarchy are the foci of feminist critique, but feminists have thus far focused on reforming the current system, which as seasteaders know is very difficult. Just as with any desired change to current systems, seasteading offers an attainable outlet to experiment with new government systems that address feminist concerns, and to create living examples of egalitarian societies. A seastead could allow for the testing of new forms of organization that do not have patriarchal elements embedded within them. This feminist stance is not, by any means, inherent in the seasteading plan and the achievement of this goal will require contributions from individuals who hope to see sexual equality emerge as a reality.
There is a place for this agenda within the seasteading movement, even though this space is largely undefined at this point. I would like to see contributions toward this aim in the areas of sexually egalitarian constitution development, consciousness-raising, and the engagement of male and female entrepreneurs who realize the value of untapped human potential caused by stringent definitions of what it means to be a woman or a man.
While the human sexuality angle is what once pulled me into the idea of seasteading, after only a few short weeks of working at The Seasteading Institute, I am finding that there are countless potential trajectories to be explored. I hope to collaborate with members of the seasteading community on many exciting possibilities for human self-realization and self-exploration, as well as the numerous other areas of focus based on ideals of mutually beneficial exchange and competitive government. Through unearthing how failing forms of social and political governance shape self-perception, we may embark on a journey of cultural innovation that could wash dated notions of personhood out with the tide.
Featured Blog Posts
Below are selections from The Seasteading Institute's blogosphere:
The Seasteading Institute's main blog:
- Official Engineering Report Released
- The Thiel Foundation pledges up to $1,000,000 to The Seasteading Institute!
The Seasteading Institute's engineering blog:
Let A Thousand Nations Bloom blog:
Featured Donor—Mike Osborne
The article below is from Mike Osborne, who has been a member since May 2009
I’ve been interested in cultural experiments and utopian communities for my entire adult life. Like many libertarians of my generation, I was greatly influenced by the writings of Robert Heinlein, Harry Browne, and Robert Ringer. In college, I was so impressed by the ideas expressed in Robert Rimmer’s The Harrad Experiment that I voluntarily "enrolled" myself in Harrad College by reading and studying about 80% of the "curriculum" texts (over 100 books) listed in the appendix; hence I’ve always felt that I earned 2 degrees while in school. I graduated from Purdue University with my actual degree in Astronautical Engineering in 1982.
Immediately out of school, I worked as an officer in the USAF launching GPS satellites on Atlas rockets. While I gained immense satisfaction being part of this work, my time in the military enabled me to experience firsthand the incentives, thinking and actions that drive government projects. I became absolutely aghast at the waste and irrationality that went into every decision, despite the good intentions of many employees. I felt I had no choice but to withdraw my consent from the entire structure and work in the nongovernmental sector for the rest of my life.
I subsequently have worked in the tech industry in various roles: software engineer, technical sales and marketing, and business intelligence. My current position is Sr Business Intelligence Analyst with the best company on the planet: Zappos.com. Zappos is revolutionizing the business world by showing how to engage in commerce by delivering happiness to everyone that comes in contact with it: customers, employees and vendors. We are a living, breathing experiment in how to have fun, deliver great customer service and be hugely profitable simultaneously.
I’m very excited by the work The Seasteading Institute is doing to bring us practical, real world solutions to the problem of government non-accountability. I support Patri and his entire team’s effort to change our world for the better. The Seasteading Institute is very deserving of our support.
Survey: What Size Seastead Would You Live On?
We look forward to bringing you more news soon. In the meantime keep up with all that is happening at The Seasteading Institute by visiting our blogs, forums, and Facebook page. We're also on Twitter.
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