Seasteading: Floating for a better world or floating away from taxes?

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• November 9, 2021

Seasteading, a movement toward building self-sustaining, autonomous communities on the open sea, is gaining interest as a frontier for innovation and potential solution to urban overcrowding and pandemic management. However, critics highlight potential issues, such as tax evasion, threats to national sovereignty, and potential environmental disruption. As the concept evolves, it poses various implications from fostering advancements in sustainable technology to prompting changes in maritime law.

Seasteading context

The movement of seasteading, conceptualized in 2008 by Patri Friedman, an American proponent of anarcho-capitalism, is based on the formation of floating, autonomous, and self-sustaining communities in open waters. These communities, envisioned to be detached from established territorial jurisdiction or legal oversight, have sparked the interest of prominent technology executives in Silicon Valley. Many in this group argue that governmental regulations often stifle creativity and forward-thinking. They view seasteading as an alternative avenue for unlimited innovation, an ecosystem where the free market can operate without external hindrances.

Nonetheless, the critics of seasteading think that these same regulations seasteaders are hoping to evade include essential fiscal obligations like taxes. They argue that seasteaders may essentially function as tax exit strategists, using libertarian ideals as a smokescreen to sidestep both financial and societal obligations. For example, in 2019, a couple attempted to establish a seastead off the coast of Thailand to avoid taxation. They, however, faced serious legal repercussions from the Thai government, showcasing the complexities surrounding the legalities of this practice.

Moreover, the rise of seasteading has also prompted certain governments to perceive these autonomous maritime communities as potential jeopardies to their sovereignty. National governments, like that of French Polynesia, where a pilot seasteading project was launched and subsequently abandoned in 2018, have expressed reservations about the geopolitical implications of seasteading. The questions of jurisdiction, environmental impact, and security concerns present challenges that the seasteading movement need to address to be recognized as a legitimate alternative.

Disruptive impact

As remote work has increasingly become a mainstay for numerous businesses, the notion of seasteading has experienced a renewed interest, particularly among "aquapreneurs," tech entrepreneurs dedicated to the exploration of the high seas. With people finding a new level of comfort in working from anywhere, the appeal of autonomous oceanic communities has grown. Interestingly, while the inception of seasteading held distinct political connotations, many of its proponents are now shifting their focus to practical and potentially beneficial applications of this maritime concept.

Collins Chen, who leads Oceanix City, a company committed to the construction of floating cities, views seasteading as a viable solution for the global challenge of urban overcrowding. He makes the case that seasteading could prove beneficial to the environment by reducing the need for deforestation and land reclamation, common practices linked to expanding urban areas. By creating self-sustaining communities on the ocean, essential infrastructure such as hospitals and schools could be developed without further straining land resources. 

Similarly, Ocean Builders, a company based in Panama, think that maritime communities might offer improved strategies for managing future pandemics. These communities could enforce self-quarantine measures effectively without the need for border closures or city-wide lockdowns, maintaining both societal health and economic activities. The COVID-19 pandemic has proven the need for flexible and adaptable strategies, and Ocean Builders' proposition might provide an innovative, though unconventional, solution to such challenges.

Implications of seasteading

Wider implications of seasteading may include:

• Governments looking into floating cities as possible solutions to rising sea level threats.
• Future wealthy individuals and special interest groups branching out to build independent states, similar to island nations.
• Architecture projects incorporating increasingly modular and water-based designs.
• Sustainable energy providers looking into harnessing solar and wind power from the ocean to sustain these communities.
• Governments reassessing and refining existing maritime laws and regulations, prompting important global conversations and potentially leading to more coherent and inclusive international law frameworks.
• Floating communities becoming new economic hubs, attracting diverse talent and spurring economic growth, leading to novel labor markets and occupational landscapes.
• Socioeconomic disparities as seasteading become predominantly for affluent individuals and corporations.
• Environmental concerns from the establishment of large floating communities, as their construction and maintenance could disrupt marine ecosystems.

Questions to consider

• Would you be willing to live in ocean communities? Why or why not?
• What do you think are the possible effects of seasteading on marine life?