(Also available in the following formats: .mobi .epub .pdf)

The book you are reading is in draft form (perhaps eternally). We believe in transparency and immediate feedback, so wed rather make something imperfect available right away then wait until it is polished. Also wed rather work on adding ideas and content than on making it look perfect, so it will always be a little rough. If youd prefer a slick presentation, there are lots of failed and inactive projects listed in the Review section which were better at hiding their warts. Some of them still have websites.

The first version of this book was written in 2002-2003, when the primary author (Patri) had neither a job nor a family. It then languished for a number of years while he had both. Then we got a big break: on April 15th, 2008, we received $500,000 of seed funding from PayPal founder Peter Thiel to start a non-profit which we called The Seasteading Institute. Patri became Executive Director, and on July 29th, 2008, left his job at Google to work on seasteading full-time. This means more time available for writing, and a much more rapid evolution of our ideas.

Over the 5+ years since this book was first written, our thinking has evolved based on reflection, discussion, and new information. Some of these changes have made their way into the text, but due to limitations on the time available for writing, many have not. We believe that the text will catch up quite a bit during 2008-2009, but it will always be a bit behind our latest thinking. Fortunately, thanks to modern Print On Demand technology, new printed copies will always reflect the latest text.

Some of the key things wed like to change when we get more time are:

Mark Twain: Buy land. Theyve stopped making it.

Seasteaders: Production Resuming.

In this book, well demonstrate that a combination of technologies has finally given the lie to Mark Twains famous line about the real estate business. Imagine the tremendous possibility of being able to create new acreage on the vast and empty oceans. The environment may be less friendly, but the increased freedom will appeal to a motivated minority who are fed up with terrestrial politics. These aquatic pioneers will settle civilizations next frontier through the unusual merger of green technology and free enterprise. Once there, they will experiment with new social, political, and economic systems, adding much-needed variety and innovation to the stagnant business of government.

As the earths population steadily increases, so does the pressure to open new frontiers. While the oceans have long been used for transportation, this book is an extended thought experiment about how they could support permanent settlements. Considering these issues will be invaluable no matter which way humanity next expands. In particular, the ocean bears some definite similarities to space: the final frontier, which will surely be an important part of our near future.

While were practical-minded and most of this book is dedicated to the how of seasteading, its crucial to also explain why people are interested in small-scale sovereingty. In perhaps the most vital section, well outline the economic theory which suggests that ocean-based societies will actually work better than terrestrial ones. The relative ease of moving around entire buildings on the water means that political units will be dynamic, and so governments must be responsive and efficient or they will lose citizens. This effect will work automatically to improve institutions, regardless of the specific political system chosen. The ocean is not just the last open frontier on Earth it is the perfect setting for a competitive market in governments .

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Seasteading Book Beta | The Seasteading Institute