I've had this discussion with other people before, and I like to remind people of the first seasteading city : Venice.
It was built specifically to get away from people on the mainland, and thrived based on a platform of trade.
I'm not going to pretend it's a perfect example, but it is pretty interesting how one of the most powerful cities in the world at one stage was developed by deciding to build a settlement in the middle of the water, which was pretty high-tech for the time.
Of course the true power of Venice wasn't achieved until it acquired some mainland territory to shore up it's supply lines, so perhaps the lesson is that a seastead needs to be setup adjacent to a relatively weak nation state that can be reverse absorbed at some time (assuming a peaceful treaty rather than by force). There are plenty of caribbean + pacific islands that could fall into this task. It may not mean taking a whole country but simply signing a century-long lease over a portion, maybe like British Hong Kong or modern Guantanamo Bay. I'm sure plenty of poor nations would gladly accept rental revenues for a mostly unwanted piece of land.
As for revenue streams - if a settlement could be located somewhere climatically agreeable, and out of jurisdiction of sovereign states, simply having cheap alcohol + food, and gambling would be more than enough to get the cash rolling in. An off-shore casino could simply run tighter odds and more drinks and make it worthwhile for people to go to. After all, Monaco and Las Vegas used this to their advantage for a long time just by being places where gambling could exist.
I think it's a very novel idea and I hope someone tries it one day. If it's the same site I've seen before (TLDR) they posit the idea that the first attempt would likely be a re-purposed cruise ship. And don't forget, there is already a cruise ship ('The World') that is doing something like this but mobile instead of stationary.
Bascially, instead of predicting what would or wouldn't work, someone should try it out and see what happens. Predictions of larger governments squashing it may turn out to be incorrect if the politicians of said governments find it to be convenient for their purposes.
Comments
I've had this discussion with other people before, and I like to remind people of the first seasteading city : Venice.
It was built specifically to get away from people on the mainland, and thrived based on a platform of trade.
I'm not going to pretend it's a perfect example, but it is pretty interesting how one of the most powerful cities in the world at one stage was developed by deciding to build a settlement in the middle of the water, which was pretty high-tech for the time.
Of course the true power of Venice wasn't achieved until it acquired some mainland territory to shore up it's supply lines, so perhaps the lesson is that a seastead needs to be setup adjacent to a relatively weak nation state that can be reverse absorbed at some time (assuming a peaceful treaty rather than by force). There are plenty of caribbean + pacific islands that could fall into this task. It may not mean taking a whole country but simply signing a century-long lease over a portion, maybe like British Hong Kong or modern Guantanamo Bay. I'm sure plenty of poor nations would gladly accept rental revenues for a mostly unwanted piece of land.
As for revenue streams - if a settlement could be located somewhere climatically agreeable, and out of jurisdiction of sovereign states, simply having cheap alcohol + food, and gambling would be more than enough to get the cash rolling in. An off-shore casino could simply run tighter odds and more drinks and make it worthwhile for people to go to. After all, Monaco and Las Vegas used this to their advantage for a long time just by being places where gambling could exist.
I think it's a very novel idea and I hope someone tries it one day. If it's the same site I've seen before (TLDR) they posit the idea that the first attempt would likely be a re-purposed cruise ship. And don't forget, there is already a cruise ship ('The World') that is doing something like this but mobile instead of stationary.
Bascially, instead of predicting what would or wouldn't work, someone should try it out and see what happens. Predictions of larger governments squashing it may turn out to be incorrect if the politicians of said governments find it to be convenient for their purposes.