We’ve all wanted our own patch of land to do what we want, right? Little bit of crypto? Pharmaceutical experiments? Human cloning? Well the manifest destiny trolley has come back around again and they’re serving up ‘freedom cities.’ Now your little slice of paradise comes with a big helping of deregulation fantasies and a promise to build, build, build!

If you can even get it off the ground, that is. This isn’t the first, second or third time that starry-eyed men have grabbed an island, called it home and installed a server farm and a crypto conference to the chagrin of the state that actually claims dominion. Will this time be any different for these plucky micronations?

Links:

Prospera: https://www.prospera.co/en
‘Startup City’ Groups Say They’re Meeting Trump Officials to Push for Deregulated ‘Freedom Cities,’ WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/startup-cities-donald-trump-legislation/
California Forever: https://californiaforever.com/
Trump’s “Freedom Cities” Are a Devious Scam, The New Republic: https://newrepublic.com/article/192741/trump-freedom-cities-company-towns
Let’s Buy An Island: https://letsbuyanisland.com/
The Principality of Sealand: https://sealandgov.org/
Seeing Like A State, James C. Scott: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeing_Like_a_State
Careless People, Sarah Wynne-Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Careless_People
Peckham Outer-Space Initiative: https://www.itsnicethat.com/articles/peckham-outer-space-initiative
The Dawn of Everything. David Graeber & David Wengrow: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dawn_of_Everything

Just the News No Noise with John Solomon and Amanda Head, December 1st, 2025