How would you start your own country, with its own government, low taxes and a civilized way of life? With freedoms eroding around the world, with speed cameras and invasive laws, this seems like a key question.
Patri Friedman, grandson of legendary economist Milton, puts it like this:
"Government is an industry with a really high barrier to entry," he said. "You basically need to win an election or a revolution to try a new one. That's a ridiculous barrier to entry. And it's got enormous customer lock-in. People complain about their cellphone plans that are like two years, but think of the effort that it takes to change your citizenship."
Previous efforts at starting micronations have run afoul of nearby governments, and plopping your new country into the San Francisco Bay Area, with some of the highest living costs in the nation, seems a bit cheeky. Surely that is US territory, not the high seas.
But one thing for sure: Government is ossified, corrupt and dysfunctional pretty much everywhere. Having a world of floating platforms where you could change your government as easily as motoring to another location seems like a compelling way to organize society.
But as a threat to existing governments, it's cheeky ... and likely to be prosecuted vigorously.
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