You have succeeded in convincing me that nothing other than a seastead would be sufficient to make this proposal even possible.
Step 1: Complete.
Additionally you have convinced me that there is a reasonable chance that even a well funded attempt at a quality seastead might fail miserably.
Step 2: Complete.
What you haven't convinced me of is that we shouldn't try.
Step 3:
Fail... Back to step 2.
But from the view of the nation paying for defense would be a lot like us paying tax. Docking in their waters would give them instant cash influx. I know it seems like we really arnt free because we are being forced to pay government, but there would be the prospect of competition! nations offering competitive offers to get us to dock in their waters.
You actually just described Blueseed to a "T."
I know, I know... You were thinking of keeping some semblance of non-nationalism on board, perhaps like not flying the US flag or something to show the world where your heart "really" lies.
It's utter, wasteful silliness though at that point. No liberation whatsoever... Everyone on board will pay a tax to the host government no matter what that money is locally called... If payed to the USA for protection, then it'll be called a Tax by the IRS and reporters of the world... But even worse, the citizens of the USA that come to your boat will be called Americans and expected taxes from just as well! You could get double-taxed this way!
...If they don't pay either tax to the IRS? Claim sovereignty? I think you know what will happen then.
And before you say that many onboard would first renounce their citizenship, electing to pay that huge exit tax to the IRS before leaving; just remember that you can't renounce a citizenship without claiming another, recognized country as your home first. They just don't let anyone become stateless. It's against the big, black rulebook for all nations to follow.
So where would you renounce your citizenship too? I'm pretty sure "a boat offshore" won't be on their drop-down form. Neither would Sealand be on it...
In fact I doubt that they have every established nation on that form for you to choose from today.
obviously it would have to be done right for this to apply, there would have to actually be a realistic prospect for the nation that would defend us to receive a noteworthy revenue stream from protecting us.
I once tried (seriously) to design the defensive capabilities for a 100-man seastead. It had radar, sonar, gun towers at every corner, and a gun skiff to face any trouble away from the main population.
Everyone I told about it said that these additions were cost prohibitive, and even if 100 people all decided to split the cost it would be very considerable from a floating population that couldn't even produce the parts locally. (No gunpowder for the bullets... Gotta buy them from a nation.)
But then how could such pathetic defenses guard a single life from an anonymous torpedo? Even if you spot it with your sonar in time, those things blow up BIG. Aimed at the power plant or another central system, you can bet one single shot from any large government of this planet can anonymously kill everyone onboard and without much warning at all.
...And if they jam your coms or cut your link to the internet first, the whole world will only hear THEIR story about why we accidently set fire to our platform ourselves and tragically died before rescuers arrived.
It could sneak up on them for the same reason bitcoin wasnt 51%ed to death by the government from the first time they heard about it. they surely could have afforded to do this, very easily afforded to.
We don't register as a threat to them yet, but one day we will. We're not up to fighting them now, but there is reason to think that again, one day we will.
I hate to sound all doom and gloom; but the only way bitcoin will survive that scary day is if we decentralize everything around bitcoin first... Decentralized exchanges, decentralized service websites, decentralize ISPs, decentralized anything that the governments can shut down to hurt bitcoin.
If we aren't fast enough and smart enough, we WILL fully lose the freedom game until at least the next time a bloody revolution occurs and gives us relatively more freedom for 1-3 generations.
I think maybe you give governments more credit than is due for foresight.
I give them NO credit for their foresight... But you give them no credit for the size of their guns when they are properly "provoked."
always remember we dont have to be the tiger, we just have to be prickly like the porcupine. we just have to apply resources as efficiently as possible towards making it as expensive as possable (not just monetarily) for them to deal with us.
If your goal is to get away from them in the first place; you risk seriously provoking them already.
If you succeed in making a wealthy, thriving society that their tax slaves would ever want to leave them for, then you can't avoid their wrath. They cannot allow their sheeple to see some greener pastures elsewhere.
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