ATLAS ISLAND: The goal is to provide a refuge from government control and coercion.
Freedom Reporter presents projects that are trying to find a ways towards a free society, or a slightly more free society than the current one in which people live today, even in so-called democratic societies. This time we present the ATLAS ISLAND project. This project hopes to grow from an online community of like-minded people into a fully-fledged autonomous seastead.
Atlas Island is an international community of people who believe in freedom and individual sovereignty.
„We recognize that freedom should not be subject to the whims of government or even the majority but rather is an unalienable natural right of every individual,“ explained ATLAS ISLAND project .
On Atlas Island, every individual is sovereign; therefore, all interactions must adhere to the non-aggression principle and voluntary agreement. To achieve this freedom, they want to leave behind archaic governments which assert control over their citizens and establish a new floating city-state on the ocean.
The Seasteading Institute has conducted extensive research and demonstrated that this is possible, even within the existing legal framework. True freedom can be achieved without a vote and without violence.
„At Atlas Island, we’ve decided that it’s time to make that happen. We have developed a clear and feasible five stage process to move from our current paradigm of voice and instead provide individuals with the choice to vote with their boat and move to a new voluntary society,“ stated organizers.
The Atlas Island project seeks to build a floating community, eventually becoming a fully-fledged seastead that will be settled in international waters and therefore avoid the direct control of any existing world government.
ATLAS ISLAND: Five Stages
The full development of the project consists of five stages.
Stage I is the creation of an online community. At this stage, local clubs that welcome new members interested in the project are formed.
Stage II involves establishing marina communities in which club members start transitioning to living on floating vessels while still remaining close to onshore civilizational amenities.
At Stage III, a harbor community is created, where a protected floating space is located which allows for the development of basic infrastructure on the to-be seastead.
Stage IV involves several harbor communities merging together at sea, creating a coastal community. At this stage, floating infrastructure is further tested at a larger scale and an autonomous economy begins to emerge on the seastead.
Stage V involves merging the constituent clubs and communities further and moving the seastead to international waters. There, the Atlas Island project will be able to become independent of existing governments to the fullest extent possible, perhaps operating as a patchwork of Free Private Cities on the sea.
At Stage V, the seastead will be designed to remain permanently afloat and harbor the boats of its citizens. The goal is that the micro-nation will expand as more people join it, attracted by low taxes, individual Citizen Contracts and private government, where individuals can leave the seastead at any time and take their vessels, business and homes with them.
ATLAS ISLAND: Freedom is sacred
Atlas Island, inspired by the similarly named book Atlas Shrugged, was founded in 2021 by three Seasteading Institute Ambassadors who came together to make seasteading a reality within ten years. This group then quickly grew and now has a board of directors, advisors, and many members.
„Despite varied backgrounds, we all share a common belief that freedom is sacred. The purpose of Atlas Island is to build a community of individuals who firmly believe that everyone is sovereign over their own life and who are utterly opposed to government coercion. With a dedicated group of like-minded individuals, we are confident that we will once again reclaim our liberty and natural rights,“ declared ATLAS ISLAND project.
„Our principles are based on anarcho-capitalism. We strongly adhere to the non-aggression principle and the same is expected of our members. We also firmly believe in private property and are opposed to taxes. We will require residents to sign a pledge to uphold these core principles prior to moving to Atlas Island,“ explainde organizers.
„While the seasteading movement encompasses people from a wide range of political positions, our focus is solely on individual liberty and private property: individuals who believe in centralized government control and coercion are invited to find another organization which better aligns with their values. We will not compromise these core principles in the name of expediency or for financial gain,“ added.
„Our goal is to re-establish individual sovereignty and seasteading is how we will achieve this. While there are many reasons people wish to seastead, ours is solely focused on acheiving individual sovereignty. Given this,our platforms will all be operated according to the principles of Free Cities.“
„We believe that the free market provides better solutions than centralized planning and thus we are technology agnostic. We also believe that establishing a market of individuals living on the ocean will drive the technological development of better and more affordable vessels. We refuse, however, to wait for this technology: freedom aboard a slightly less comfortable floating vessel is far superior to comfort in a house under an authoritarian government!“ stated osrganizers.
FREEDOM REPORTER:
INTERVIEW WITH THE ATLAS ISLAND PROJECT
…………………………………………………………………………..
FREEDOM REPORTER: What is the main goal of your project?
ATLAS ISLAND: The goal of Atlas Island is to provide a refuge from government control and coercion. We aim to attract liberty loving, hardworking individuals who are tired of being subjugated to excessive taxes and regulations by societies which demonize their success rather than celebrate it. Not everyone will agree with our ideals or be suited to live on Atlas Island. If you expect a large social safety net and government intervention, Atlas Island is not the place for you. On the other hand, if you agree with our values and are willing to give up the security of an established society for the opportunity to start a fresh society that truly values freedom and success, then Atlas Island might be exactly what you’ve been looking for!
Who is the project intended for? For which candidates and from where?
Our principles are based on anarcho-capitalism. We strongly adhere to the non-aggression principle and the same is expected of our members. We also firmly believe in private property and are opposed to taxes. We will require residents to sign a pledge to uphold these core principles prior to moving to Atlas Island. We invite members who share these values to join from anywhere in the world.
How many people is the project intended for?
The project is intended to be entirely scalable for as many individuals as wish to join.
Where is the project territorially located or should it be located and why exactly there?
The project is based on seasteading and thus will eventually be based in international waters, likely in the equatorial region between South American and Africa where sea conditions are most favourable. Initially, however, we will start as a decentralized network of hubs in marinas around the world.
How should freedom for residents be ensured in your project? What new/additional freedoms (compared to life in a normal western democratic state) would the new residents of your project gain in this project?
Freedom will be ensured through the use of independent floating vessels and platforms along with flags of convenience. These strategies ensure the physical right to exit as well as encourage flagging jurisdictions to compete by offering greater freedom. This combination works synergistically allowing residents to easily switch jurisdiction and thus ensuring that they can constantly maintain maximal freedom.
Would your project result in a perfectly free society or only a partially free society for your citizens?
Our project will provide the maximal possible freedom achievable under established international law. Moreover, any technique used by other jurisdictions to achieve greater freedom can rapidly be adopted through the use of flags of convenience thus ensuring that we always remain at the cutting edge of freedom.
What would be the main features of this new, greater freedom and its main benefits for residents?
Under maritime law, we will negotiate with flagging registries and adopt a flag of convenience. This flag will impose minimal restrictions and basic legal rights. There will likely be no taxes aside from flagging fees and very minimal regulations. Further, given that we will be permanently based at sea, we may even be able to negotiate more economic freedom than is offered to traditional vessels flying the flag.
How is it or should it be guaranteed that these new/extraordinary freedoms (or elements of a free society) obtained in your project cannot be eliminated/taken away by the state on whose territory is the project located?
By ensuring a robust right and physical ability to exit, our newfound freedoms will not be subject to the whims of a single government. As long as at least one country in the world is willing to offer freedoms, we will be able to take advantage of that since we are not based in any one territory and switching jurisdiction simply involves flying a new flag.
What stage is your project at now?
Our project is currently at Stage I, an Online Community.
When could the project reach the stage when at least the first above-standard (compared to a normal western democratic state) freedom for the residents will start to be tangible or evident?
As soon as someone buys a vessel and flies a flag of convenience, they can begin taking advantage of many of the above mentioned benefits. In fact, thousands of live-aboard sailors are already taking advantage of this freedom including a number of members of our community. We anticipate the larger advantages related to platforms in international waters to materialize within the next decade.
