050 - Titus Gebel: Free Private Cities Book Update

Nov 3, 2023

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Timothy Allen talks with Titus Gebel.

Today we have Titus Gebel back on the show. This time we’re talking about the update to his classic book ‘Free Private Cities: Making Governments Compete for You’.

What’s new? What’s gone and what lessons have we learnt since the last edition was published just over 5 years ago.

Of particular interest to me were questions that I had about the preferred architecture and design of Free Private Cities along with culture, ethics and a run down of the main innovations that have emerged since the last book.

We end by discussing the COVID pandemic and how Titus predicts that a Free Private City operator would respond to something similar in the future.

If you’re interested in the other 2 podcasts I’ve done with Titus, Try episode 036 for a deep dive into medieval city states and episode 034 for a broader discussion about the movement in general.

Enjoy the conversation.

LIBERTY IN OUR LIFETIME CONFERENCE

Prague, 14-15 October, 2023

⁠https://libertyinourlifetime.org/⁠

TIMESTAMPS:

(0:30) Introduction
(4:24) What is new in the latest book.
(9:53) Architecture and aesthetics in Free Private City models.
(13:51) The problem with Modernism.
(19:33) What does Free City Urban planning look like.
(26:10) Remote work, culture, and Free Cities.
(33:28) The natural evolution of Free Cities.
(38:31) Ethics and morality in Free Cities.
(43:47) Freedom must be the backbone of a Free City.
(49:12) Free Private Cities and economic zones in real life.
(53:29) Private governance systems and territorial disputes.
(58:13) Seasteading, Prospera and disputes with the State.
(1:04:25) Saudi Arabia's proposed $500 billion mega city.
(1:11:56) Why does Saudi Arabia want to build new jurisdictions?
(1:11:56) Governance models, pandemics, and contracts in a Free Private City.
(1:17:40) Balancing individual freedom with public health measures during a pandemic.
(1:25:13) Government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(1:30:07) Contracts and their role in decision-making.
(1:36:08) Why are Free Cities so relevant now?

TWITTER:

Titus Gebel: ⁠https://twitter.com/titusgebel⁠

Timothy Allen: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/MrTimothyAllen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Free Cities Foundation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/freecitiesfound⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠