This story is a few months old, but it's new to me and warrants sharing. Peter Thiel's plan for an
offshore libertarian colony may or may not come to fruition, but the Honduran government is actually pressing ahead with a plan to develop two
libertarian microstates. (I find this particularly exciting since I have an
affinity for Latin America.) From
The Economist:
Now, for the first time, libertarians have a real chance to implement
their ideas. In addition to a big special development region, the
Honduran government intends to approve two smaller zones. And two
libertarian-leaning start-ups have already signed a preliminary
memorandum of understanding with the Honduran government to develop
them.
One firm goes by the name of Future Cities Development Corporation. It was co-founded by Patri Friedman, a grandson of Milton Friedman, a Nobel laureate in economics, and until recently executive director of the Seasteading Institute, a group producing research on how to build ocean-based communes [with Peter Thiel -Seth]. The other is called Grupo Ciudades Libres (Free Cities Group) and is the brainchild of Michael Strong and Kevin Lyons, two entrepreneurs and libertarian activists.
Both share a purpose: to build “free cities”. Last April all three spoke at a conference organised by Universidad Francisco Marroquín, a libertarian outfit in Guatemala. In September they and Giancarlo Ibárgüen, the university’s president, launched the Free Cities Institute, a think-tank, to foster the cause.
This is terrific news, but The Economist didn't mention the best part: The Future Cities plan is to develop free trade ports on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, connecting them with high-speed rail. In other words,
the libertarian city-states would potentially replace Panama as the logistics connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific!
the problem is security. would the honduran govt provide it? that could be problematic. coups are commonplace in latin am. the honduran govt might be friendly now, but they might not be friendly 10 years from now. remember godfather ii?
ReplyDeleteIf the honduran govt provided the security, they would not be purely libertarian societies.
ReplyDeleteI've said it before: libertarianism is NOT synonymous with anarchy. It is absolutely necessary to have a government of some type to 1) protect the individual right to life, liberty, and property, and 2) enforce contracts. In terms of sovereignty, it's my understanding that the microstates would have an arrangement with the Honduran government similar to the arrangement Hong Kong had with the U.K. But consider this: the people behind this plan are multi-billionaire entrepreneurs. Private security will clearly be a large part of this plan.
ReplyDeleteHm... Most contracts nowadays are essentially the result of rampant financialization (e.g. securities, derivatives, equity). Financialization is essentially the use of derivatives and securitized debt as surplus capital sponges to soak up investment capital for which no outlet existed in productive industry. As Joshua Holland noted, in most recessions the financial sector contracted along with the rest of the economy; but after the 2000 tech bust it just kept growing, ballooning up to ten percent of the economy. We're seeing now how that worked out.
ReplyDeleteDC,
DeleteIf there were a completely laissez-faire economy somewhere in the world, *someone* would have to enforce contracts between private sector entities. (A "contract" could be as small as a customer/vendor relationship at the grocery store.) So the question is: Who enforces them? In the case of this Honduran initiative, the independent libertarian microstate would have quasi-autonomy, but the Honduran government would ultimately have the power of the gun. I don't see how the plan could work out any other way, outside of Honduras conceding total autonomy. But that's not going to happen.
A high speed rail is going to replace the Panama Canal? Good idea as long as others have stated the Hondorus government stays in place.
ReplyDeleteWe can only hope the current Honduran government will remain.
DeleteI'm sure the Honduran government will have agreements with the micro-states that will benefit the country of Honduras as a whole (if the micro-states prove profitable), much like China allows Hong Kong to exist as it's own micro-state, which benefits China. If this idea does benefit Honduras, then they will be sure to provide security or any other support needed to maximize profit to the country, regardless of whichever government is in power.
DeleteThe Honduras government proved it's stability recently by ferociously defending it's constitution from a Chavas wannabe.
ReplyDeletenamed OBAMA!!!
DeleteI want this. I want this so bad. I hope it's done while Americans are still allowed to leave the country -.-
ReplyDeleteThis was shut down by the Honduran supreme court.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.futurecitiesdev.com/about-us/
That's too bad. Liberty will have to find a new home. I suggest building upon the opportunity that the Romney loss has created in the GOP. http://www.ecominoes.com/2012/11/gop-time-to-embrace-libertarianism.html
Delete