“There is nothing, absolutely nothing, half so much worth doing as
simply messing around in boats.” --Kenneth Grahame
By their nature, people seek
adventure. The drive to escape the status quo opened the American frontier,
sent man to the moon, and has led to countless ocean expeditions for the
purpose of charting new territory, exploring the depths of the seafloor,
vacationing, and more. The
Seasteading Institute was founded on the premise that these temporary voyages have just
begun to tap into the bounty of the oceans; it seeks to enable a new cohort of
seafaring pioneers to establish permanent communities in international waters,
to experiment with new ideas for innovative and sustainable governmental
systems.
But why would anyone want to
colonize the ocean when there’s so much open space on land? First, as those who
have experienced a taste of life at seas can attest, the vast blue landscape
calms and mesmerizes -- unlike on land, everyone gets a seaside view! Second,
residents of floating vessels have substantial autonomy, including the ability
to relocate with much greater ease than on land. The seasteading community
envisions a future in which floating mega-cities made up of detachable, or
“modular,” buildings enable the formation, reshaping, and replication of the
best ideas for organizing society. The ocean clearly has much to offer, whether
one is looking to dine and relax on a brief cruise or build a permanent
platform for advancing humanity.
Given the audacity of this
vision, The Seasteading Institute is trying to break down the major legal,
business, and engineering challenges into smaller “incremental” steps, which
can be solved by entrepreneurs using existing technology. Since its founding in
2008, the Institute has produced hundreds of pages of research and built a
community of thousands of people around the world. This leveraged approach will
stimulate development of numerous seasteading businesses in the next few years.
One such business is the
Blueseed Project, a for-profit spin-off of the Institute, which will provide
opportunities for foreign tech entrepreneurs who can’t get immigration visas to
lease space on a retrofitted cruise ship 12 miles from Silicon Valley. These
ventures will prove that permanent living on the ocean is not just possible,
but sustainable -- technologically, legally, and financially.
Once the major challenges have
been overcome, an increasing number of people will opt for the seasteading way
of life, creating demand for real estate aboard ever-larger ships, small
floating platforms, and eventually, full-fledged cities on the ocean. If you
are interested in participating in this grand vision for advancing humanity,
you can sign up to receive a semi-monthly newsletter at seasteading.org, or support the Institute by becoming
a member.
Written by: Charlie Deist, Staff Writer/Administrative Associate at seasteading.org
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