Review: How to start your own country (Erwin S. Strauss)
How to Start Your Own Country - Erwin S. Strauss free ebook download pdf
Its a short easily read book about how to start ur own country. IMO the theoretical chapters wer the most interesting, altho som of the case studies wer interesting as well. i got interested in the topic after having heard about Sealand, and after seeing this TED talk:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading
3D-printing plays along extremely well with floating countries, since manufactoring items usually require large factories. this is now no longer needed as one can just print whatever is needed. bitcoins makes it possible to trade over the internet. and the internet makes it possible to work over the internet. this makes it possible to hav a floating city that is self-sustaining economically without having to rely on gambling, drug trade, tax-evasion companies, pirate radio etc. to make money. altho these are promising areas as well. especially the area of inventions and online entrepreneurship is an easy area - all one needs to do is get fast internet connections (via satelite to begin with, perhaps, or via airborne drones?), and then dont hav any patent or copyright laws.
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The requirements for a new country to be considered to have
achieved the traditional status of a sovereign nation are con
ventionally thought of in terms of such things as membership in
the United Nations, exchange of ambassadors with other sovereign
nations, acceptance of its passports at international boundaries,
and so on. Actually, few nations completely achieve these goals.
Many nations (Switzerland, for example) are not members of the
United Nations. And for any given country, there are a number of
others that, for one reason or another, do not choose to recognize
it. But a nation that achieves a certain level of these tokens of
recognition is generally regarded as having achieved traditional
sovereignty. At any time, there are usually some entities that are
borderline cases. For example, as of this writing the Republic of
South Africa has declared that certain areas that were hitherto
parts of the republic are now independent sovereign nations
(Transkei, Bophuthatswana and Venda). However, no country
besides South Africa has yet recognized them as such, and the
status of persons holding passports from these nations is unclear.
Their principal source of income appears to be the operation of
gambling resorts in the parts of their territories closest to major
South African cities (gambling is prohibited in the Republic of
South Africa). By the way, this sort of activity shouldn’t be
overlooked as a source of income for any new country.
I looked up the info about Switzerland. it was true when the author wrote this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_Switzerland#United_Nations
On September 10, 2002, Switzerland became a full member of the United Nations, after a referendum supporting full membership won in a close vote six months earlier; Swiss voters had rejected membership by a 3-to-1 margin in 1986. The 2002 vote made Switzerland the first country to join based on a popular vote.
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The key requirement for sovereignty is that the country must
have some territory that it calls its own, and hold on to it against
all comers. Traveling potentates may well have what is called
“extraterritorial status,” meaning that whatever premises they
occupy are, for the duration of their occupation, the sovereign
territory of their country. This is certainly convenient. However,
the country through which the potentates are traveling must agree
to this status, and such agreement is rarely forthcoming unless a
potentate’s government holds some territory of its own some
where. One class of exceptions are the embassies of the Baltic
countries (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) in the United States.
The United States has never recognized the annexation of these
countries by the Soviet Union during World War II. The
ambassadors from those lands who were accredited to the
government in Washington at the time of the annexation continue
to be recognized as such, since no competent authority (competent
in the eyes of the United States, that is) has relieved them of their
position. Whatever premises they occupy are the (only) sovereign
territory of these nations. But this status is based on the home
governments having held their own territory prior to World War
II. Thus the precedent they set is of little use to the new-country
organizer, whose country has never held any territory of its own.
interesting, altho not the case anymore, since the USSR has collapsed.
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The subclass of international territory covers much of the
seabed (although individual countries are always expanding their
claims to territorial waters, shrinking the international area of the
deep oceans), outer space, and a part of Antarctica. Speaking of
Antarctica, it is a popular misconception that the Antarctic treaty
signed in the 1950’s made all of Antarctica an international zone.
All of the countries who had previously made claims on the
continent merely agreed to hold them in abeyance until the end of
the century, making no further claims and not attempting to
implement existing ones. But for the next century, they have
reserved the right to resume the prosecution of their claims. They
agreed to the treaty essentially because they realized that their
claims would have little practical value until then, and that there
was no sense wasting a lot of time and energy pressing claims until
then, as long as it could be assured that nobody else would use the
hiatus to steal a march on them.
i wonder what happened.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica#Politics
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipperton_Island
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Another temptation is to declare that all settlers will participate
in making decisions about how the new country is to be run.
This approach may recruit a large number of people, but tends to
attract lots of chiefs and few Indians. The people spend all their
time and energy in debating every little point of policy, rather than
in establishing the businesses and other institutions that are to be
the backbone of the new country. Such groups sometimes compare
themselves to the citizens of ancient Athens. But it should be kept
in mind that only a minority of the people of Athens were actually
citizens. While they debated the great issues, their slaves and other
non-citizens took care of the day-to-day business of making the
community work. In turn, the citizens’ common interest in
maintaining their privileged position vis-a-vis the others acted as
an incentive to reduce the factionalism into which such participa
tory decision-making institutions are prone to degenerate.
great expression! many chiefs and few indians :D
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So far we have looked mainly at the problems involved in
getting a new country started and running smoothly. But what
then? What can you look forward to for your children, and your
children’s children? Can you expect them to carry on the work you
have started? Or will the world change so much that your efforts
become meaningless?
Human history changed dramatically when agriculture was
invented. The minority of the people that could be freed from
immediate food production found that the most profitable
investment for this new-found leisure was the conquest of other
people, and control of their agricultural surplus. This has been the
pattern for the past 10,000 years: conquer and tax, tax and
conquer some more. However, in the industrial age war has
become so costly, even for the victors, that the opportunities are
limited for conquest that can produce enough pelf to pay off the
costs involved and finance the next wave of conquest. As weapons
of mass destruction get cheaper, the costs of war to the “victor”
will spiral even higher.
But one shouldn’t be too complacent that this will mean a world
in which nation lives with nation in peace and harmony. The
resulting peace may well be the peace of the grave. In the coming
centuries, it will likely be possible to build doomsday machines
that can destroy all life on Earth. For example, a small rocket
motor on an asteroid a few miles in diameter could change the
planetoid’s orbit just enough to hit the Earth, and effectively
homogenize the outer few miles of the Earth’s crust. From an
astronomical point of view, this might be a minor event. But for
the sentient life on Earth, it could be essentially equivalent to
atomizing the entire planet.
Once such means of destruction become generally available, it
can only be a matter of time until some individual or group is faced
with the collapse of their position — an Adolf Hitler, an Idi Amin,
a terrorist group like the IRA or PLO, or even a business firm.
People in such positions commonly contemplate suicide. Com
pared to this, threatening to play the role of Samson in the Temple
if the world does not accede to their demands seems eminently
reasonable, if the means are available. The first few people trying
this can be appeased. But eventually the demands from such
blackmailers will become too numerous, too large, and too
contradictory to be completely satisfied. Many desperate people
committing suicide have tried to take as many people with them as
possible. As the weapons available to them increase in power, it
can only be a matter of time before they are able to fulfill their
ambitions of bringing the whole world down with them.
If humankind is to survive, I see no alternative to expanding
outward into space. And this doesn’t mean just settling on other
planets and moons. They will be just as vulnerable to doomsday
weapons as the Earth, and there aren’t enough of them to insure
that some will survive an Armageddon. Only a large number of
communities well dispersed in the volume of space seems likely to
have a chance to escape the fury of a frustrated blackmailer or a
suicidal grudge holder. Such people will be able to destroy a few
communities, just as today terrorists can fairly easily destroy an
airplane with hundreds of people aboard. Such an act is a disaster
for those on the plane, and is hardly cause for celebration by their
friends and relatives and other supporters of the things they stood
for. But the human race survives. The continuity of the cultures of
the world is not broken.
he is right about this. we see the beginnings with 3D-printed weapons. that will becom possible soon. thus making gun control laws rather moot. after that, mor powerful weapons will be able to be made, explosivs cant be too far off in the future.
it is easier to destroy than to create, and as the power of technology inevitable rises, this will becom a larger and larger threat if humanity is populated densly.
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CALLAWAY, KINGDOM OF
During the American Civil War, the county of Callaway in the
state of Missouri sympathized with the Confederacy, but was
facing occupation by an overwhelming Union force. Col. Jefferson
Jones mounted an impressive display of force, complete with a
dummy cannon of wood painted black. Unaware that Jones had
only 300 old men and boys, Union Gen. John B. Henderson signed
a mutual non-aggression treaty with Callaway, which then became
known as the Kingdom of Callaway. Of course, as soon as the
Union decided it was time to move into the area, the treaty meant
nothing. This reinforces Machiavelli’s dictum, “Put not your faith
in Princes” — nor in their scraps of paper.
tru story
http://www.kchsoc.org/legend.html
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CONCH REPUBLIC
This is a mouse-that-roared operation on Key West in Florida.
Because of the high incidence of illegal immigration and drug
smuggling into the United States in that area, a roadblock was set
up in April of 1982. This caused a 19-mile-long traffic jam, and
incensed the local tourist industry. On April 23, 1982, they
declared themselves to be the Conch (pronounced “konk”)
Republic. A silver commemorative medal was produced, and the
first anniversary of independence was celebrated by a Festival
Weekend. Conch shells were sent out to the media to promote the
event. The spokesman seems to be George Tregaskis, of Key West
FL 33040.
very funny! continues to this day!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conch_Republic
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