esiid@ulysses.homer.nj.att.com (Eliot Siidmarc[shp]) (03/03/88)
In article <1029@maccs.UUCP> gordan@maccs.UUCP writes: >If anyone out there _really_ wants to be free of any world government, >there's a place on Earth where it can be done. The high seas. Outside >the 200-mile territorial limits, you're free of any government >interference ...many good points removed... >The point is, we are already at the point where thousands of people >could live in this way.... I'd like to open up a discussion on this idea, that the oceans do or don't provide a viable alternative for colonization today. If any interest is generated, I think it would make an added case for the creation of this proposed ocean newsgroup, In the meantime, I suggest taking this over to, as I've instructed in the Followup-To: sci.misc field. And now, my opening remarks on this topic: I think that such a move would be very good, both for the present time in a political way, and for the future (of space colonization, too:-), in a sociological way. I think no better case for demonstrating the viability of peace can be made than actual examples of this. In other words, the more people and countries that live in peace, the more obvious it becomes to everybody that peace CAN work. Having a large group of people, from different ideological and ethnic backgrounds, all living together peacefully in a colony in the middle of some ocean would certainly make a powerful state- ment about harmony! Politically, too, such a non-country would be an ideal place of refuge for those who feel persecuted anywhere in the world. "Give me your tired, your poor..." You get the idea! :-) Also, I think that the ability of such a community to constantly sub-divide over differences of opinion, which can not easily be done in fixed, land- based living arrangements, would encourage the experimentation of various social forms. Rather than arguing whether free-market capatilism is better or worse than socialism or whatever, each group of people would be fully capable of picking up their anchors and sailing over to the other community. If these groups are in the same basic area of the ocean, dealing with the same basic environment, they would make much better test cases for a number of what have remained up 'till now strictly theory in political and social science. Think of it, we would actually be able to develop solid experimental data for different economic and political models! The so-called "soft" sciences would finally be given a solid opportunity to do experimentation of a nature rigorous enough to deflect all but the most closed-minded of "hard" science enthusiasts. You could actually say, "5000 people under such and such a political system did better than a control group of 5000 people under some other system." (Naturally, you'd want volunteers for each community, unless you're modeling totalitarian states. :-) ) What about it, any takers on this topic? Eliot Siidmarc <backbone>!ulysses!esiid 600 Mountain Ave. 30M-005 Murray Hill, NJ 07974 (201)582-5836 "My own rantings, not AT&T's."