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Originally posted by pancreasman
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In the real Planet Three, as we've seen, the government is much larger than in the ghost Planet Three. For instance, in the ghost Planet Three, Paul Romer is a private citizen. In the real Planet Three, he is a government official. He is not the only one.
And in the ghost Planet Three, USG governs America, on behalf of Americans. In the real Planet Three, an entity that includes USG plus its immense penumbra - call it EUSG - governs the world, on behalf of - God knows who. Itself, basically.
In the real Planet Three, USG is incredibly powerful. There is no reason to think that any ship or structure, anywhere at sea, will be able to sustain any nontrivial infringement of US law - especially if any part of its organizational structure includes US persons or US entities.
But EUSG is even more powerful. Because EUSG includes those nebulous and distributed forces that comprise "international public opinion." Ie, the organs which dictate international public opinion - since people, generally, are not philosophers and believe what they are told to believe. While these organs are not monolithic or hierarchically organized, they somehow magically seem to always agree with each other. The Washington Post never gets into an organizational catfight with the New York Times, or Harvard with Stanford. This, of course, is because all are ticks on the same horse - Washington - and must gallop together.
Imagine a stateless seastead city that could defy US law. You are probably fantasizing. But you might get away with it, if your seastead city had "international public opinion" on its side. Now, imagine a stateless city that could defy "international public opinion." You are really fantasizing - that is, under today's world order. You seek to change that order; you cannot assume what you are trying to achieve.
Thus the appeal of seasteading depends existentially on the very illusions it seeks to destroy. "Not a true thing, but a false thing." In the ghost universe, the oceans of Planet Three are a free space for new experiments in government. In the real universe, they are a space administered by a single government - and have been for over 200 years. Until 1914, that government was HMG. Since 1945, it has been USG. When you go to sea, you are swimming in USG's pond. Frankly, you might as well do your seasteading on Lake Superior.
Does international law assure you of this right, or that right, or the other right, at sea? No doubt Martian law also assures you of many fine privileges. Carlyle tells us: there is no right that is not also a might. Should your rights be violated, to whom will you appeal? If the judge of appeal is also the violator, or there is no judge, there is no law and no rights. More phantoms.
And in the ghost Planet Three, USG governs America, on behalf of Americans. In the real Planet Three, an entity that includes USG plus its immense penumbra - call it EUSG - governs the world, on behalf of - God knows who. Itself, basically.
In the real Planet Three, USG is incredibly powerful. There is no reason to think that any ship or structure, anywhere at sea, will be able to sustain any nontrivial infringement of US law - especially if any part of its organizational structure includes US persons or US entities.
But EUSG is even more powerful. Because EUSG includes those nebulous and distributed forces that comprise "international public opinion." Ie, the organs which dictate international public opinion - since people, generally, are not philosophers and believe what they are told to believe. While these organs are not monolithic or hierarchically organized, they somehow magically seem to always agree with each other. The Washington Post never gets into an organizational catfight with the New York Times, or Harvard with Stanford. This, of course, is because all are ticks on the same horse - Washington - and must gallop together.
Imagine a stateless seastead city that could defy US law. You are probably fantasizing. But you might get away with it, if your seastead city had "international public opinion" on its side. Now, imagine a stateless city that could defy "international public opinion." You are really fantasizing - that is, under today's world order. You seek to change that order; you cannot assume what you are trying to achieve.
Thus the appeal of seasteading depends existentially on the very illusions it seeks to destroy. "Not a true thing, but a false thing." In the ghost universe, the oceans of Planet Three are a free space for new experiments in government. In the real universe, they are a space administered by a single government - and have been for over 200 years. Until 1914, that government was HMG. Since 1945, it has been USG. When you go to sea, you are swimming in USG's pond. Frankly, you might as well do your seasteading on Lake Superior.
Does international law assure you of this right, or that right, or the other right, at sea? No doubt Martian law also assures you of many fine privileges. Carlyle tells us: there is no right that is not also a might. Should your rights be violated, to whom will you appeal? If the judge of appeal is also the violator, or there is no judge, there is no law and no rights. More phantoms.
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