PayPal founder backs project to build libertarian ocean colonies

LIBERTARIAN OCEAN COLONIES: I kid you not, some people plan to build them. PayPal founder Peter Thiel has already pledged half-a-million dollars to the project, which is led by a team that includes the grandson of the late Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, of whom I am very much a fan. Apparently the homes that will make up the 'colonies' are termed 'seasteads'. "In essence, the seastead would consist of a reinforced concrete tube with external ballasts at the bottom that could be filled with air or water to raise or lower the living platform on top. [...] The primary living space, about 300 square feet per person, would be inside the tube, but the duo envisions the top platform holding buildings, gardens, solar panels, wind turbines and (of course) satellites for internet access." Ann Althouse is skeptical. "But you're stuck there indefinitely. And you're not going to call up the United States to rescue you when things go awry, right? I just have one request: Cameras everywhere! We want to watch your reality show." Only in Silicon Valley.