PayPal’s Peter Thiel was in the news back in 2008 for being the financial muscle behind the libertarian-minded “ocean colonies,” which are intended to be unregulated offshore experiments to combat the regulated markets of modern society. Remember that story? Yeah, I don’t, either. It seemed to not get the widespread coverage it arguably deserved, but as libertarians, we cannot be surprised by this.
However, Thiel’s aforementioned floating cities have recently come back up in the headlines yet again, as they now serve as the basis for a newly proposed reality show that would positively depict these cities, which according to VentureBeat have become “techno-libertarian utopias.”
VentureBeat’s Gregory Ferenstein further opines:
“…if you think the last tech reality show, Start-ups: Silicon Valley, could have been a lot more like Survivor, get excited.
It is true that regulation can severely kneecap some emerging industries. Uber and Lyft routinely get kicked out of cities for failing to meet stringent taxi-cab laws. Amazon has yet to pilot a working drone delivery service, in part because FAA regulations won’t allow them to do all the testing they’d like.
Hypothetically — and it’s a big “if” — a working floating economy could be established, some of these emerging industries might have the space to grow. Perhaps that could make way for a kind of Shark Tank style business competition. But, instead of the normal small business, it’s a group of techno-libertarians pitching products that no land-based government on earth deems wise to allow.
Upon reflection, the show could be quite entertaining. This might just get the techno-libertarians the traction they’re seeking.”
The show is still currently in the early stages, but we will report more in the future as this story develops.
