Bob Murphy Show Ep. 433 Patri Friedman on His Current Project for Free Cities
Aug 11, 2025
Patri Friedman, founder of Pronomos Capital and a pioneer in competitive governance, discusses his passion for creating free cities. He shares insights on groundbreaking projects in Honduras and the promise of charter cities. The conversation explores the legal complexities of seasteading and innovative governance models designed to push societal norms. Friedman also delves into the future of global governance amidst the rise of multipolarity, considering how technology like blockchain could redefine citizenship and economic structures.
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Seasteading Began With A Small Experiment
- Patri Friedman began exploring seasteading in 2001 and launched the Seasteading Institute with Peter Thiel's funding.
- He used seasteading to popularize the idea of forming new polities on the ocean.
Ocean Costs Demand High Value Density
- Patri Friedman explains ocean projects require very high value per area because marine infrastructure costs are huge.
- Low-value activities rarely justify the expense and difficulty of the ocean environment.
Charter Cities Avoid Ocean Expense
- Patri Friedman pivoted to charter cities in Honduras to test governance ideas without ocean costs.
- Use charter cities to let companies run commercial law while the host state retains criminal and sovereign functions.