“If I’m not a ship, I’m a boat that could be”: Seasteading and the post-social political imagination Isabelle Simpson A Thesis in The Department of Sociology and Anthropology Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Anthropology) at Concordia University Montréal, Québec, Canada April 2016 © Isabelle Simpson, 2016 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Isabelle Simpson Entitled: “If I’m not a ship, I’m a boat that could be”: Seasteading and the post-social political imagination and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social and Cultural Anthropology complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: ______________________________________ Chair Dr. Meir Amor ______________________________________ Examiner Dr. Kregg Hetherington ______________________________________ Examiner Dr. Sally Cole ______________________________________ Supervisor Dr. Mark K. Watson Approved by_______________________________________ Dr. Meir Amor, Graduate Program Director ________________________________________ Dean of Faculty Date _____________________________________________ iii ABSTRACT “If I’m not a ship, I’m a boat that could be”: Seasteading and the post-social political imagination Isabelle Simpson Founded in 2008, The Seasteading Institute (TSI) is a California non-profit organization set up “to facilitate the development of permanent, autonomous cities deriving legal autonomy from their location in international waters – Earth’s last unclaimed frontier” (Hencken, 2013, cited in Barksdale). These floating city-states, or seasteads, would exist on platforms inspired by cruise ships, aircraft carriers and oil platforms and become frontier habitations for aquapreneurs and ocean pioneers wanting to experiment with new systems of governance. The seasteading movement, in line with Silicon Valley’s tech culture and (a)political ethos where individuals are encouraged to exit the political structure (Friedman 2009; Thiel 2009, 2014), is part of a larger trend toward postsociality and depoliticization. Much more than just a new utopian lifestyle on offer, seasteading is part of a digital countercultural movement driven by techno-libertarianism (a libertarian political approach to technology), and anarcho-capitalism. Ultimately, the certitude that technologically advanced, subject-centered, small-scale communities are more appropriate than large democratic political structures as catalysts for social change illustrates a broader shift in the collective imagination from social and political preoccupations to preoccupations with individual enhancement. Table of Contents List of figures .............................................................................................................................................. v Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Digital counterculture ...................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical framework .................................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 1 – Imagination, technology, and the future of governance ........................................................ 8 The functional society .................................................................................................................... 10 Just do it ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Exit by the front door ..................................................................................................................... 13 No future for you, except in Silicon Valley ..................................................................................... 15 Palantir ........................................................................................................................................... 18 Alone together: depoliticization and postsocial (actor-)network society ..................................... 20 “Choice beats voice” ..................................................................................................................... 21 Chapter 2 – The men who belonged on earth and at sea ......................................................................... 25 Sealand ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Seasteading literature .................................................................................................................... 27 Cruise ships, hypermobility and escapism ..................................................................................... 33 Flowing away ................................................................................................................................. 40 Self, community, world .................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 3 – The “Next New World” ........................................................................................................... 46 All good things are wild and free ................................................................................................... 47 Seasteaders and survivalists .......................................................................................................... 54 Freedom is something you take ..................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4 – Is seasteading for you? ........................................................................................................... 61 She steads ...................................................................................................................................... 61 Who will get the golden ticket? ..................................................................................................... 63 A land of one’s own ....................................................................................................................... 67 On the island, off the island ........................................................................................................... 72 Conclusion – Beyond politics / Politics and beyond ................................................................................. 76 Reassembling the post-social ......................................................................................................... 78 Disrupting democracy .................................................................................................................... 82 A boat that could be ...................................................................................................................... 84 v Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................ 87 List of figures Figure 1. Peter Thiel and David Graeber debating technology and the future (Source: Hiroyuki Ito for The New York Times, 2014) ............................................................................................................................. 22 Figure 2. The Seasteading Institute logo ........................................................................................................ 37 Figure 3. Burning Man icon .......................................................................................................................... 37 Figure 4. A character from the television series Silicon Valley (2014) castaway on a seastead ............................ 43 Figure 5. Arrival at Titan Island. Photo credit: P. Anderson .............................................................................. 55 Figure 6. The cube ship, built and dismantled on site. Photo credit: P. Anderson .............................................. 55 Figure 7. Memocracy speaker and audience. Photo credit: P. Anderson .......................................................... 56 Figure 8. Photo credit: P. Anderson ............................................................................................................... 55 Figure 9. Photo credit: P. Anderson ............................................................................................................... 57 Figure 10. Photo credit: P. Anderson ............................................................................................................. 57 Figure 11. Photo credit: P. Anderson ............................................................................................................. 58 Figure 12. Photo credit: P. Anderson ............................................................................................................. 58 1 INTRODUCTION Founded in 2008, The Seasteading Institute (TSI) is a California non-profit organization set up “to facilitate the development of permanent, autonomous cities deriving legal autonomy from their location in international waters – Earth’s last unclaimed frontier” (Hencken, 2013, cited in Barksdale). These floating city-states, or