The Freedom Ship is an idea that's been, ahem, floating around for some time. Effectively it's a Libertarian paradise; a tax-free floating utopia. It would have it's own hospital, casinon and 3000 member police force. The ultimate gated community.The project has been plagued with delays. Initially the construction was to have been finished in 2000. As of this writing they haven't even begun building the ship and are still in the fundraising/ design phase. Something to do with various "scams" that have caused set backs. Huh. You'd think that if anyone would be able to spot business scams it would be financially savvy libertarians.
Could you come up with a better metaphor for libertarianism if you tried? Pie-in-the-sky idealism which, for one reason or another, never quite meets fruition. This why most libertarian ideas don't quite make it out of the pot smoke filled college dorm rooms in which they were concieved.
Still- the Freedom Ship is an interesting idea in a Waterworld sort of way. And who could deny they have a great theme song?
Greed, exciting and new Come Aboard. We're expecting you.
Greed, life's sweetest reward. Let it flow, it floats back to you.
Libertarian Boat -- soon will be making another run. The Libertarian Boat promises selfishness for number one.
Set a course for anarcho-capitalism, your mind on a world with no laws. Greed won't hurt anymore. It's an open wallet on a foreign shore.
Yes GREEEEEEDDDDDDD! It's GREEEEDDDDDDDD! (hey-ah!)
For a serious article on this subject read this.
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7 comments:
It looks more like a cross between and aircraft carrier and Guantanamo to me, but I digress.
Though with a $600+ billion annual military budget, we could use a Ron Paul-type in charge of that. There is some serious highway robbery going on there.
As a person who does not like coercion and loves freedom, I have an affinity for Libertarian views. If everyone was like us, we could probably make it work. Unfortunately, there are too many people like the perpetrators of this stupid scheme and too many business people that think business is supposed to be wealth accumulation instead of using freedom to cooperate honestly to exchange for goods and services and improve life for everyone.
Pretty sad.
I actually have a big problem with Libertarians, but:
1) don't want to start fights
2) can't sum it up in a few sentences
Oh, and did they wonder what would happen if the aircraft and smallboats from said ship (and the ship itself) were denied access to ports?
Don-
Agree on the military budget.
With regards to libertarians I think there may be a semantics issue here. As I read about the Freedom Ship it struck me that the idea was very Randian/ Objectivist in nature and not exactly libertarian. The project planners call themselves libertarians so I went with their self-identification for the post.
I also agree that if everybody were basically good that libertarianism might work. I have to say however that what struck me about this is that it's sort of a direct counterposition to the Kennedy-esque vision that we're all in this together which is so important to me personally.
Arkon-
That's a great question. Apparently it's going to have the flag of some nation - probably a small third world country. Could the situation you describe provoke an international incident.
A 3000 man army that was well trained and financed could do a lot of damage should the captain (read: dictator) decide to take matters into his own hands.
The what-ifs on this are fascinating. Really this is the stuff of sci-fi.
I'm not sure how much more freedom we can stand.
Zaius--
I dunno but one thing I do know is not to equate freedom with new freedom. That's left me embarrassed more than once.
I saw this on the history channel. I hope they build it and it then sinks
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