CORRECTION: The video inaccurately identifies Jorge Colindres as the Technical Secretary of Próspera Inc. He's the Technical Sectetary of Próspera ZEDE, which is a different legal entity.
This is such a joke. Even proving that this could work when it's funded by huge amounts of outside money coming in from tourists at the resort who are coming specifically because of the novelty WOULD PROVE NOTHING about whether it could work everywhere. Not everywhere can be a tourist destination for the super rich. Anyone claiming the outcome of this "experiment" would in any way be broadly applicable to societies at large is either utterly delusional or a dangerous deceptive ideologue. Super wealthy people living in luxury have little reason to fight over resources. This experiment could not survive if the enclave was not protected from the poverty outside by the law enforcement of the state of Honduras. They would be robbed blind the next night at gunpoint, if they were not protected by state power and law enforcement. It's just sad that people are still part of this pathetic libertarian circlejerk at this point in history.
@@randymiller3918 That's the problem, no one other than yourself can guarantee your safety, and the Honduran government won't allow the most effective means of doing so.😐
Sort of. This very heavily leaned in favour of the development. Yes, it's better than most media outlets, but it was still quite biased. There were a ton of elephants in the room it ignored.
@@jasondashney A vague statement of liability does nothing without real examples. You might as well claim that a garden gnome is alive when nobody is looking.
reason is generally good at looking at both sides. This is a close experiment that has heppened with many cities around the world. It's just worded a bit different to make good company expansion.
Reason is a California-based libertarian-leaning publication - they realize that they can't beat people over the head with Atlas Shrugged because their neighbors are all Californians
The one gentleman says at 25 minutes he can't imagine the US constitution being manipulated.. he's quite clearly very unfamiliar with the US government.
Ikr, like choosing to ignore a ban on his facism because he wants to suppress conservative voices freely outside the first amendment. These people must leave office.
The context of the "US constitution being manipulated" was about the absurdity of amending the US Constitution to enable a private citizen or corporation to create a "State" within Central Park.
Having been to Honduras and hearing about the corruption from locals, seeing their poverty, the lack of roads and other infrastructure the government can’t provide, I hope Prospera can succeed as long as they do it honestly and keep their word. The people of Honduras deserve better than crony-capitalism.
crony-capitalism gives it a false association to the laissez-faire capitalism that they are practicing. cronyism is closer to socialism in terms of policy, too, so i never understood the terminology.
@@davidlewis6728 well said! It’s why I personally avoid the term capitalism altogether, people hear it and think that “capital” is what makes the system unique - in fact, the term “capitalism” evolved from the works of Karl Marx. We are literally using a term designed by socialists to muddy the waters as to what is being said when one says “capitalism” by, as I said, deliberately focusing on the capital elements of “capitalism”, when they are FAR from what makes capitalism unique. I’ve met socialists who, unironically, want to “abolish money”, because they think that is a solution to capitalism, when currency has predated anything that we would consider to be “capitalistic” by literally thousands of years. Instead, I keep it simple: I advocate for private property rights + free/fair trade/exchange (free of coercion). At its core, these two concepts are sufficient to encapsulate EXACTLY what we mean when we say “capitalism”, without all the “ugliness” and “confusion” the term carries by design. Cheers!
Simple test, if they work a job for these benevolent capitalists in Prospera, will they be paid enough to live in Prospera? Of course not. Like all other capitalists they will exploit the poor with poverty wages to maintain their cushy utopian lifestyle.
I would always worry that at some point the Honduras government would decide to nationalize these settlements which I don't see them successfully opposing.
I hope they nationalize this money laundering scheme. bitcoin is used by criminals. they're producers the same way Epstein was a producer for the local economy in the Bahamas.
They require a constitutional amendment which requires a 2/3rd vote. Are the people allowed to own arms under criminal law there? Can prospera residents carry arms?
It'll be like every other Western Libertarian scheme - sounds wonderful, gets some short-term $$, and at some point will be obliterated by reality and/or the greed of the Establishment. In this case, does anyone with an ounce of brains imagine that Presidente (Presidenta?) Castro wouldn't make thieving & destroying every asset put into this scheme?
Because they will lose this competition, it's just a matter of time. I foresee that if they try to protect themselves with guns, then they have a chance, a small chance, but a chance, otherwise the government will just expropriate it all, and that will be the end.
A libertarian city hardly matters when it's in a socialist country. The government could just come on in and nationalize everything and disregard the values and customs said city has built.
Prospers needs to create a private militia, even if it violates Honduran law. That’s the only way to fight against the tyrannical Castro regime, or any government for that matter.
@@bendover8477 Does no one understand the the corporate rule that is the inevitable result of modern libertarian thinking is a system that failed five hundred years ago called feudalism? Why would you give your power to an unelected government whose decisions you have no right to challenge and whose private army will probably be constantly fighting with other nearby private armies? Yeah, sounds like paradise if you enjoy the Black Death and constant warfare.
@@bendover8477 That would be horrible idea. Casualties will mount like the Paris Commune and cause extensive property damage. Will they also have an air force and navy to supply them while under siege?
@@chessmaster9638 Now not to say that brute force isn't applicable and enough of it won't end the issue, but superior firepower does not need to mean autowin.
I find it outrageous that the government officials are so hostile to Próspera and in return, Próspera is so moderate and honest. Who would you trust more? I know the answer, I just hope the Hondurans will realize.
@@Elreymisterio2737 I will take a self-serving capitalist over an authoritarian self-serving communist any day of the week. I've lived and worked in Honduras. I would love to see the country and its people prosper. ¿E tu? You obviously have a dog in the hunt, Rey. I trust you are not from Venezuela.
@@dranelemakolmore specifically, its success is ideologically threatening to the government. Hard to get reelected as a socialist leader that shits on the free market if there's a private free market city where life is 10x better than the rest of the country
Did anyone ask "why" she is doing such actions? We are very quick to point...humans react and do things based on actions upon them. No one wakes up and says "I want to be the bad guy"...hopefully with AI we can get the future stable and sorted out
@@Nperez1986Her incentives are irrelevant, what matters are the real life implications of the policies she advocates for, which will have a real life impact on real life people.
@@Nperez1986 Her incentives are clear as day. She's part of the Castro dynasty wishing to subjugate whole Latin America under Castro rule. Socialism is just a tool of oppression for her.
Prosper needs to use its wealth to build a private military to rival Honduras’ and then build a weapons manufacturing company. Make these socialists afraid to even think about attacking.
@@chris0000924 and @thegoldeyfamily9119 the difference is that in El Salvador they didnt make "a state within the State" the president simply went rogue and turn the whole country a sort-a-libertarian experiment, which sort-a-worked
@@KamZeroYou say like that's a bad thing, consent laws should be about consent, not about age. By making some sort of "universal consent age" you are disregarding the people that are getting exploited because they are over that age yet cannot mentally consent, plus there are people under that age that can consent. Humans don't all magically become able to consent at one single age, over night.
@@desertPersonSomalia isn't really libertarian, it's a bunch of states fighting amongst eachother. If Somalia would be considered libertarian so would every warzone.
Whatever your political orientation is, you can agree that what we need are more experiments like these to understand what works, what doesn't and why? Real world experiment are better than 100 years of ivory tower theorizing.
Reason makes videos about these ham-fisted libertarian projects regularly… off the top of my head i remember the new hampshire one and the floating city in the ocean pipe dream
Bingo. Let's experiment. I'm sick of people saying things can't work when they've never been tried in earnest before. Then, again, no amount of defeat will discourage some people. Look at communism.
This is true. These experiments are welcomed. The faster their fail the better evidence we have that free market Capitalism is a scam told by ricy people.
@@REL602 I'm convinced those who push for it are only doing so because they understand that they're such losers that they will fail in a market that's competitive and/or based on merit. Who cares about the risk and the death toll up to this point, right? As long as nobody else is more successful or comfortable than the losers?
Guys! It always depends on how you define “socialism” and “capitalism”. These terms must be agreed on before there can be _any_ discussion! For example, something like anarcho-socialism, and anarcho-communism will be agreed upon by 99% of people if they understand how it actually functions
Prospera Inc has my full support. I hope that they manage to get Hondurans to prosper, though some of them might not see it now, they will thank them later when they have created the Singapur of Central America!
They want to create a tax haven and refuse to obey laws they do not like - they're crooks and banksters, building mansions without permits to make it look shiny. The only "legal way" to do this is in international waters (like the google oil rigs for unethical medical treatments) - you can't just buy land and do what you want, push police out with militias and call it "libertarian"
if it finds economic success(which i'm assuming is the kind of success you mean) it will become a feudalist zone. libertarianism is just feudalism in a smiley tshirt.
Its a very risky bet. If they manage to accumulate any wealth at all in prospera the state gov will seize it without a second thought in times of extreme hardship.
This is a good summary of any government. If you are standing between the State and wealth it wants, either get out of way or get ready to be run over.
give them guns. Hard to expropriate something when people are willing to defend their homes with their lives. This isnt the 1950s anymore. It would be really hard to wage war against your own citizens once they realize how well off everything is.
Not easy for Honduras. Prospera is operated by a US corporation and Honduras is a member of the World Tard Organisation. So , it would face a huge fine(dozens of billions USD) for violating its rules.
Far better than the WWF's ESG corporate feudalism. Some called for developing "economically vibrant green zones" in these countries to give them examples of a better way.
"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it." - Jack Handey
Panama is an enormous central hub for commerce all over Latin America and the Caribbean, not sure why Bogmar is saying there isn’t a business hub in Latin America
Many people struggle with self-confidence, leaving them open to being tricked by manipulative people who offer false hope in return for obedience. This is why those who value freedom often overcome obstacles, while societies focused on conformity tend to fall apart.
Very interesting. I’ve been to Honduras multiple times, and it’s a place replete with resources and natural beauty, all taken away by the government while narcos rule the streets and the people starve to death. This initiative can only improve that place and bring some prosperity.
Its called a company town. Which may be better then abject poverty but theres a reason this has been made illegal in developed countries that have had company towns before.
Idk if this is a bad idea, but what I can say, is that it says a lot that the government officials from Honduras are punching down, being toxic, acting hostile, telling people their victims, when the other side’s message is doing the opposite and saying, let’s give you the power to do what you want. I think the idea of prospera is a great experiment. America is a an experiment. Who is to say that the western world is the only model for governance. People should always experiment and try to figure that answer out for themselves.
Most of the time when I see people complaining about outsiders "taking their land" in actuality it wasn't their land and the owner was paid a premium for it. After it gets developed and is worth more then all of sudden it's "exploitation" and "unfair". Edit: Some people seem to want to point out irrelevant things in replies to this, so for those idiots: I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT UNJUSTLY ACQUIRED LAND THROUGH THINGS LIKE IMMINENT DOMAIN AND CONQUERING.
If you did not want to sell it, then the amount you get for it is borderline irrelevant. If somebody forced you to sell the most sentimental object you own for "fair market value" you would still be upset and call it unfair.
@@jasondashney I'm saying they weren't forced. I'm saying it was consensual, they got a great deal at the time, and only later after it has become more valuable do they have regrets. Or it's someone not even involved at all complaining. It's safe to assume that someone commenting under a libertarian channel is against the forced sale of land and understands the difference before voluntary and involuntary.
It's like telling a moon rock "I own the land this moon...here is some metal coins for it"....That moon rock is going to tell you "what?! This is everyone's 🌙 moon"
@@travisthompson1679 my point wasn’t specific to this video. I was talking more about the concept in general. In Canada the government can take your land and give you a “fair market value“ whether you like it or not because they want to put a road through there or turn it into condos or whatever. This is extremely common and there’s not thing one you can do about it. A good friend of mine‘s father was the one who took the land from people in one of the biggest cities in Canada. If you bought a piece of land five years ago on the outskirts and wanted to keep it and use it as your retirement plan because you thought in 30 years it would be worth a ton of money, too bad. You have to sell it today at fair market value and if the market is down you can get screwed even on that. And technically the government doesn’t have to give you fair market value. They just do because of the optics.
I lived in Prospera for 10 months since July 2022. I am originally from Slovakia and came to Roatan to help with financial education in the region. I started to build and operate a Bitcoin Academy you can see in the video at 12:08 Initially I was also skeptical about Prospera and its plans although I am a libertarian. But meeting the founders of Prospera and all the people who work inside of it to make it successful changed my initial doubts and was one of the main reasons I stayed, started the academy and changed my life completely. Coming from Slovakia to Central America was a big decision to make for me and my girlfriend. I suggest everybody who cares about free cities to succeed, come to see us, spend some time, see for yourself and talk to people here. Or even come to build your business here and help the region to prosper ;)
Hearing that there's a company doing gene therapy trials there because there's less regulation than in the US is troubling. The rest of the examples sound pretty good though.
I would like to come too, but only one problem is that the central govt may want to take control of the entire region and nationalize it eventually (as all power hungry politicians do)
@@EVtripper what exactly do you mean? I already paid thousands to local carpenters for furniture and other works on the academy and paying salaries to hondurans living and spending money outside of Prospera. I already gave much more then I took. Do you have something specific in mind?
around the 20min mark "we are worried about this private group because our government might take our land on their behalf" i mean, yah it's right to fear such a thing, but that's not the private group's fault, that's the government's fault.
Enjoy the fun and sunshine while it lasts! Honestly, if it can improve the Honduran's lot in life, I'm all for it. I'm happy for the Hondurans who are better off for it. I believe that the people running the place genuinely want to eliminate some human misery if they can. But it mostly looks like a playground for a bunch of millionaire kids spending their parent's money. It reminds of a 1970's-esque hippie commune, just with marginally better funding. The whole experiment looks doomed, between bad relations with the Honduran gov't and lack of buy-in abroad. I'm honestly impressed they've gotten as far as they have. The notion of grabbing up more territory and expanding the size of the zone is a mistake if you want good relations with the Honduran gov't rather than faux-moralistic posturing. I don't think its a state sovereignty thing, I think its an image/optics thing. Castro, the president, seems to advocate a left leaning, socialized structure and a nearby alternative structure could be interpreted as a threat or humiliation, especially if that structure is doing well. Look at China's treatment of Hong Kong as an example. Nothing was particularly wrong with Hong Kong, but Beijing didn't like it, so... yah. Never underestimate the role of appearances in governance. To be diplomatic, you must seriously consider the concerns of others, regardless of absurdity. Speaking of which, calling the place a mini-state is profoundly dumb if the Honduran gov't is concerned about separatism. Regardless, that Castro president has her sights set on the zone, and she doesn't seem like the easily persuaded type (though I've heard she's very charming in person, if a bit hot blooded. The daughter Castro parades around scares me though). Attracting big money investors will be hard with her openly and publicly criticizing the project. The ZEDE needs big money investors to prosper in the fashion intended. Castro (probably) figures she isn't getting the investment in Honduras from the ZEDE, so she is going to want to kill the ZEDE (or at least smear it) and make a big show out of it for domestic political support. She'll need that political support for her proposed constitutional rewrite. Congratulations of being the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political capital. I smell a military crackdown and/or 'encouraged' expropriation in the works unless they can secure her buy-in, or at least get her to deliberately ignore the project. In my experience, some less fortunate nations struggle to tell the difference between investment, aid, and colonialism, and admittingly the line can be blurry. They can make a lot of demands that are grossly impractical, and then get mad when you simply can't meet them, and create this endless cycle of rage and stagnation. Doesn't help that you got lefties in North America and Europe who will call you a colonizer if you show interest in a foreign country for any reason at all. It's a cool social experiment (very cool!), but it isn't getting the results needed, a pretentious video isn't the way to get the results needed, if you can't get the results needed the only question is how painful the end will be Also, the law exists (de facto) to protect the state from you, and not the other way around. If you think the law (or treaties, or whatever else) will protect the ZEDE indefinitely from the Honduran gov't when you are in Honduras, you're out of your damn minds. Best of luck!
Very well put. There is zero chance this will work if they don't get support from the government. End of story. They really need to do a big public campaign, emphasizing that their own constitution for bids expropriation. They also need to fund local community projects. Build some schools and playgrounds etc. You damn well better be making a visible positive difference in the community because being poor does NOT cause people to become depressed and angry. Wealth inequality does. For them it's all a PR campaign. I don't see this experiment ending well, but maybe there are things to be learned from it. Part of the reason I don't see it ending well, that undermines the socialist government's entire message, and reason for existence. Socialism. Then, again, maybe it will work. Stranger things have happened.
The key is to become a successful city state and invest heavily in security and build a private military to rival the country’s military so they won’t mess with you. Have the city-state invest in its own arms manufacturing company
Funny enough you're saying to steal land from Honduras through violence Cool fascism moment kiddo You forgot the profit incentive for the victims of warcrimes from your private militia Clown ass
The spokespeople, especially Brimen, do a very good job of presenting the message/charter/philosophy in this video. I would hope that people outside of the ancap/libertarian world can at least see that there is sincere effort to confront the difficult questions like liability and legal resolution that exist in any society, voluntarist or otherwise. It's a pretty inspring endeavor. My only concern is that they tread lightly with bitcoin emphasis, not due to my preference for fiat (especially in Latin America) but due to my belief that there is something inherent in BTC's original parameters that make it unsuitable for mass adoption (little too much to go into here).
I don't understand how these people keep saying "bitcoin" over and over as if other currencies weren't relevant. Considering they are libertarians, i would expect them to be far more interested in Monero.
It’s not a free-market if the nation’s criminal law still applies. It essentially gives the government a monopoly on force. As this island starts to prosper and the mainlanders get envious, it’s only a matter of time before the government utilizes that monopoly on force in the favor of the state. So it’s not really volunteerism. It’s pretend volunteerism. This may work well at first, but it’s days are already numbered, unless of course the island could somehow gain complete independence or at the very least complete autonomy.
He really said that like it was fucking Nazism or something. These communists are delusional. They see people having the freedom to do what they want with minimal red tape, and think its bad.
Exactly why it needs to be destroyed, a taking of the commons by the rich put in place by a coup government of the rich that resisted even mild land reform of the land controlled by a handful of rich families as a throwback to colonialism.
Hong Kong and Singapore are quasi-Georgist, using land rents to fund government (Singapore gets nearly 50% from land and related). However Prospera's land tax rate of 1% seems far too low to limit speculation so I'm dubious they will prosper to the same extent, though perhaps as land vales become more established they can switch from taxing incomes and sales fully to land rents.
@@darkcnotion Without a sufficient land value tax, a speculator can buy up the land and do absolutely nothing productive with little to no cost. Especially if you want to encourage development in a brand new city, you want the landowners to not only speculate on the future value of the land, but also actively build something valuable on it. A land value tax ensures efficient land use, and we've seen plenty of success stories in places like Taiwan and Singapore when they adopt Georgist ideas alongside free market principles. Picture a vacant plot of land in the middle of Manhattan. The land could be used to build critically needed housing, but instead the owner only cares about the future real estate value and keeps it empty, providing zero benefit to anyone else.
Really interesting how Prospera acquired more land ( from 58 to 1,000 acres) during the pandemic...interesting! Prospera and its affiliates along with, partnered corporations will be held to the universal laws.
While I tend to consider myself Libertarian in my politics, it's hard to be hopeful that this won't eventually become an oligarchy of the worst kind. I hope to be proven wrong.
I guess if a few individuals take over and make the place unpleasant to live, people will leave. They might set up another place to live. Over time the effort and resources needed to control Prospera will diminish and become worthless.
There’s a town in India that has had no government for over 40 years called Gurgaon. It is one of the fastest growing, highest standard of living towns in India. And is rated as the best place to work and live in India.
I think the individuals running Próspera should certainly make a point to familiarize the Hondurans with its existence and mission. It would be Earth shattering if it successfully lifted a great portion of the Hondurans out of poverty.
The fact that it describes itself as non-contiguous and favors an "opt-in, opt-out" structure is particularly interesting to me as a Panarchist/Polyarchist. I hope it succeeds so we can see more of this form of geo-political structure around the world.
You can opt-out but all the money you poured in is lost… there isn’t a secondary market to sell your local assets (hell there’s not even a primary one)
because they were rich before? I can say the same thing about americans not wanting to go to college and crying about white working class being oppressed by college liberals.
@jamesmitch9792 that's a viable point. The dynamics change in USA when everyone has a liberal arts degree and the garbage man makes 2x more per year. But then the oppressed liberals cry for student loan forgiveness and I'm debt free and already own my home.
8:25 Fernando Garcia was almost trembling when he said that this was anarcho-capitalism. If that's such a bad thing, and your system of government is such a good thing, why aren't your people wealthy? Or, at least, why aren't they not poor?
Well Honduras had always have capitalist governments, why are we not wealthy then? This government has only 2 years in chair. The president (narco dictator) that ruled the government (right wing party) that approved the ZEDE law is now in a U.S. prision, charged for drug and gun trafficking, corruption during that government reached historic records. Honduras is poor thanks to the corruption of the anarcho-capitalist governments we have had, each of them supported financial and military by the US.
@@isaakantunez9213. Wrong! Humans thrive when they are free to do so. Honduras is poor because the authoritarian rulers put up roadblocks to prosperity.
@@edmonddantes5104 The Great Depression was not caused by no regulation. In fact, the more regulation there is, the less opportunities people have to make money.
@@edmonddantes5104 First off, the stock market has little to do with the real economy. Most businesses are not publicly traded and can continue on no matter what the stock market does. Second, how about you watch what's happening right now. The Federal "Reserve" is raising rates very fast. This will crash the economy. It's a fact. Just keep watching. If you watch you will see that the banks are at fault for nearly every economic problem we've had sin 1913 when the Fed was created. Look up the story of The Meeting at Jekyll Island.
@@scientifico Well this libertarian program to take cities back from the government seems to be doing great at freeing people from the government and giving people jobs.
This is obviously not being built for the locals and at most there is a potential to benefit them via serving the incoming tourists/work from home PMC'ers and boomers looking to retire there. The likelihood is that they will aggressively expand and own as much as they can get away with, this is not complicated.
This idea works in theory. Someone richer than everyone will buy everything as an incentive to profit. Some things have to be slightly regulated, or else you won't have a free market. The free market is the most essential part. There has to be competition or else you'll end up with the private version of authoritarianism
@DavidLopez-rk6em you should take a look at what "free market" is looking like in the states these days. Corporate consolidation, collusion and corruption of the 3 branches of government, all part of the end game to have very few companies monopolizing everything. This is the US's biggest export and exposes the myth of free markets for the farce it is.
You don’t have to be the primary beneficiary in order to benefit greatly. Before this project there was no money, no medicine, no education for the locals. What kind of life is that?
The gentleman at minute 25:00 was mad saying "Eso es anarco capitalismo, eso es ser libertario". I found it really funny that some people think that libertarianism is a bad thing, that people just don't want to let others live their lives in peace. Never forget what the socialism made to Venezuela, Argentina and Cuba.
Government and economics doesn't matter. The only question is are people willing to work together. That is the ONLY defining factor. Someone gets power and squashes everyone else
@@axeman2638 In anarchy, you can collectivize and make some kind of "state". However, forcing people to stay is the problem of the state. Keeping people against their will isn't going to improve these smaller collectives of people, so clearly statism wouldn't work at the larger, national scale. The emphasis is about allowing people to freely choose, especially in times when the leader of the collective is running inefficiently.
@@axeman2638So don't go there. Simple as that. Is this your normal state of operating? Telling everyone what they should do. You also go to your neighbour and tell them what they should have for a dinner, and you don't like what they have. You are immoral 🐷 red disease.
23:14 - 23:18 "In order for there be maximized human prosperity, you need freedom" Absolutely based statement, I wish more people learned about the importance of economic freedom to the decreasing of poverty and corruption.
I had a dream about this idea. We need to adopt this model in the US because our issue is that local governments restrict development to an insane degree. Dense mix use neighborhoods are associated with poverty, homelessness, and crime. However, if we can privatize a dense walkable mix use neighborhood, then that "corporation" can kick out unwanted (the homeless and drug addicts). At the same time, the corporation can provide a floor in the standard of living for its all workers.
Actually, the US should ban foreigners from buying our property. All it does is make our property more expensive for the people who live and work here. While our taxes and people pay for the military, police and firefighters to defend that property.
No queremos Zedes en Honduras, no mas discriminacion, no a unas zonas privilegiadas y otras pobres. Si nos vamos a desarrollar sera estando juntos, todo el pais. Ni un centimetro de Honduras a las Zedes.
Honduras having crazy Chávista as president and I don't like government monopoly of power grid . I from puerto rico and the power company is owned by the government of Puerto Rico
when governments owned the power grids power was cheaper and more reliable, privatisation has brought nothing but price gouging and infrastructure breakdown, which the public are expected to pay to fix every time. public risk, private profit. No thanks. libertarians are greedy spoiled little brats that never learned how to share their toys.
@@jamesmitch9792 let Got straight and theyre are off-the-grid energy movement and why we have to have one company with power company. battery power for TV but not yet cookware
true volunteerism is the only reason why i support Prospera's libertarian city; it shows that Prospera builds upon the concept of giving a free choice from the start as its foundations!
@@FreelanceDev4life The dude who said it was opposing it and implying that no local governments in the USA would cede authority to experimental self-governing development projects.
@@thinkcasting3182 I’m well aware. Just saying that US authorities have already done exactly what he thinks is unconscionable/unthinkable so his argument against the Honduras experiment falls flat.
*talks with everyone in the city who says it's awesome* *talks with only two people who say maybe it's only half decent* Seems fair when making a video in a country that had an election where business like these were an issue. Great video!!!
@@markwac247 I guess we’d have to define what we mean by libertarianism for this to be a meaningful conversation. But for the most part the rich make their money from regulatory capture or cottage industries and would like to continue that. For example, real estate is the best investment in the USA due to government policy such as zoning for artificial scarcity, and tax breaks that make it lucrative relative to other industries. Then the government supports the debt economy through the federal reserve and Keynesian economics. Another example is Tesla and electric car subsidies, which made the worlds richest man. Lastly, the USA has weak property rights in the eyes of libertarians. If we had strong property rights us as citizens could sue for pollution damage to our property, for example. Which is why libertarians believe there would be better environmental protections under their system. But libertarian may mean something different to you so maybe you’re thinking of something different than I am.
If the idea is so good...WHY NOT IMPLEMENT IT IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY? Well....because we don't have so many poor, disempowered and ignorant citizens there like they do here. It is their greatest resource!
Several of the libertarian type of experiments didn't turn out but I'm curious to see what happens in this case, especially because it seems like they're embracing regulation? And my experience with other experiments in a libertarian society is that they didn't want regulations or laws or anything like that. Everyone seemed to want to do whatever they wanted, regardless of how it affected their immediate neighbors.
4:56 That is not true though. Honduras has generally seen a higher vertical building density in its main cities. One of the leading companies working on that is Celaque, and its owner is known for being an honest man, and quite an enemy of the current political party in power. They are building a skyscraper in Tegucigalpa, and no traces of corruption have been noticed thus far. So, although the documentary has very spot-on data, this particular statement is false information, or a false accusation, rather. At least to my knowledge as a honduran.
As a student of history, I see nothing but a bleak future for this. The conspicuous contrast, wealth inequality, cultural and language differences, and just plain "otherness" one side sees in the other, will not make for long term success for Prospera...
@@RextheRebel Some were, but they weren't all. Incidentally, it is, by definition, impossible to subsidize all business. Additionally, you do realize that some of the big ones are big precisely because they formed from former government monopolies, right?
CORRECTION: The video inaccurately identifies Jorge Colindres as the Technical Secretary of Próspera Inc. He's the Technical Sectetary of Próspera ZEDE, which is a different legal entity.
Sus
This is such a joke. Even proving that this could work when it's funded by huge amounts of outside money coming in from tourists at the resort who are coming specifically because of the novelty WOULD PROVE NOTHING about whether it could work everywhere. Not everywhere can be a tourist destination for the super rich. Anyone claiming the outcome of this "experiment" would in any way be broadly applicable to societies at large is either utterly delusional or a dangerous deceptive ideologue.
Super wealthy people living in luxury have little reason to fight over resources. This experiment could not survive if the enclave was not protected from the poverty outside by the law enforcement of the state of Honduras. They would be robbed blind the next night at gunpoint, if they were not protected by state power and law enforcement.
It's just sad that people are still part of this pathetic libertarian circlejerk at this point in history.
WHY ARE YOU DELETING MY POSTS YOU SO CALLED JOURNALIST?
AFRAID OF ME EXPOSING YOUR LIES?
@@Ballosopheraptor So you don't think those rich people could hire security if needed?
@@randymiller3918 That's the problem, no one other than yourself can guarantee your safety, and the Honduran government won't allow the most effective means of doing so.😐
Actually, I'm surprised to see a journalism piece that actually allowed for conversation from both sides of the issue. Thumbs up for good work.
Sort of. This very heavily leaned in favour of the development. Yes, it's better than most media outlets, but it was still quite biased. There were a ton of elephants in the room it ignored.
@jasondashney such as?
@@jasondashney A vague statement of liability does nothing without real examples. You might as well claim that a garden gnome is alive when nobody is looking.
reason is generally good at looking at both sides. This is a close experiment that has heppened with many cities around the world. It's just worded a bit different to make good company expansion.
Reason is a California-based libertarian-leaning publication - they realize that they can't beat people over the head with Atlas Shrugged because their neighbors are all Californians
The one gentleman says at 25 minutes he can't imagine the US constitution being manipulated.. he's quite clearly very unfamiliar with the US government.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
It’s a comment made out of reverence for the States
Ikr, like choosing to ignore a ban on his facism because he wants to suppress conservative voices freely outside the first amendment. These people must leave office.
The context of the "US constitution being manipulated" was about the absurdity of amending the US Constitution to enable a private citizen or corporation to create a "State" within Central Park.
The US had the Disney World district in FL
Having been to Honduras and hearing about the corruption from locals, seeing their poverty, the lack of roads and other infrastructure the government can’t provide, I hope Prospera can succeed as long as they do it honestly and keep their word. The people of Honduras deserve better than crony-capitalism.
I think it's crony-government
crony-capitalism gives it a false association to the laissez-faire capitalism that they are practicing. cronyism is closer to socialism in terms of policy, too, so i never understood the terminology.
It's crony-authoritarianism.
@@davidlewis6728 well said! It’s why I personally avoid the term capitalism altogether, people hear it and think that “capital” is what makes the system unique - in fact, the term “capitalism” evolved from the works of Karl Marx. We are literally using a term designed by socialists to muddy the waters as to what is being said when one says “capitalism” by, as I said, deliberately focusing on the capital elements of “capitalism”, when they are FAR from what makes capitalism unique. I’ve met socialists who, unironically, want to “abolish money”, because they think that is a solution to capitalism, when currency has predated anything that we would consider to be “capitalistic” by literally thousands of years.
Instead, I keep it simple: I advocate for private property rights + free/fair trade/exchange (free of coercion). At its core, these two concepts are sufficient to encapsulate EXACTLY what we mean when we say “capitalism”, without all the “ugliness” and “confusion” the term carries by design.
Cheers!
Simple test, if they work a job for these benevolent capitalists in Prospera, will they be paid enough to live in Prospera? Of course not. Like all other capitalists they will exploit the poor with poverty wages to maintain their cushy utopian lifestyle.
I would always worry that at some point the Honduras government would decide to nationalize these settlements which I don't see them successfully opposing.
They need a private army or security agency
I hope they nationalize this money laundering scheme.
bitcoin is used by criminals.
they're producers the same way Epstein was a producer for the local economy in the Bahamas.
They require a constitutional amendment which requires a 2/3rd vote.
Are the people allowed to own arms under criminal law there? Can prospera residents carry arms?
@@-whackd pretty sure no
@@-whackd. C’mon, politicians don’t care about silly things like Constitutions. Look at the US.
Government Officials: This threatens the very concept of The State!
Libertarians: Your terms are acceptable.
what do you mean, it is a state, a corporate totalitarian state as well.
Honduras is a broken state, that needs to rebuild, not to create an oligarchy
Honduran citizens: this threatens my life,
as The Majority are dependent on energy, food, and The Grid which is maintained by government
Ha, I cheered when the statist said that. YES, and good!
That's pretty much exactly what I said
I love this. The current government just doesn't want competition.
It'll be like every other Western Libertarian scheme - sounds wonderful, gets some short-term $$, and at some point will be obliterated by reality and/or the greed of the Establishment.
In this case, does anyone with an ounce of brains imagine that Presidente (Presidenta?) Castro wouldn't make thieving & destroying every asset put into this scheme?
Of course, freedom means they would fail as better people/systems/etc show why they suck :)
Yes , they dont , unbridled competition has people bleeding out in the street
@@bobjary9382 Depends on who's doing the bleeding.
Because they will lose this competition, it's just a matter of time. I foresee that if they try to protect themselves with guns, then they have a chance, a small chance, but a chance, otherwise the government will just expropriate it all, and that will be the end.
A libertarian city hardly matters when it's in a socialist country. The government could just come on in and nationalize everything and disregard the values and customs said city has built.
That's why a 2nd amendment is a good idea for these people.
Prospers needs to create a private militia, even if it violates Honduran law. That’s the only way to fight against the tyrannical Castro regime, or any government for that matter.
@@bendover8477 Does no one understand the the corporate rule that is the inevitable result of modern libertarian thinking is a system that failed five hundred years ago called feudalism? Why would you give your power to an unelected government whose decisions you have no right to challenge and whose private army will probably be constantly fighting with other nearby private armies? Yeah, sounds like paradise if you enjoy the Black Death and constant warfare.
@@bendover8477 That would be horrible idea. Casualties will mount like the Paris Commune and cause extensive property damage. Will they also have an air force and navy to supply them while under siege?
@@I_Lemaire pilots have families too
Non aggression does not mean unable to defend, my libertarian friends.
Exactly! 2A ftw. Surely other people, not just in America, can see this.
The problem is when you are weaker then you lose. In the end NAP is stronger wins against the weaker.
@@chessmaster9638 Now not to say that brute force isn't applicable and enough of it won't end the issue, but superior firepower does not need to mean autowin.
It’s private property. They can enforce any rules they want. People free to live elsewhere right?
@@bryanutility9609 That was my point. They can defend their private property in the face of totalitarian despots.
"Can a private group really establish a government?"
This is how most state constitutions in the USA were written. By the people, not top down.
They were written by the elites to protect the elites, not “by the people.”
And look where that has gotten us. Corporatocricy.
You are confusing "the people" with "rich land owners who can read and write"
Bahahahahahaha
Get out of Honduras The country is not for sale. Why you don't do your experiment in Idaho, New Mexico, South Dakota or Montana?
I find it outrageous that the government officials are so hostile to Próspera and in return, Próspera is so moderate and honest. Who would you trust more? I know the answer, I just hope the Hondurans will realize.
I don’t!, prospera is not moderate and honest, but liars and so much more. Let’s cut the lies!. I hope that the truth comes out!
@@Elreymisterio2737 I will take a self-serving capitalist over an authoritarian self-serving communist any day of the week. I've lived and worked in Honduras. I would love to see the country and its people prosper. ¿E tu? You obviously have a dog in the hunt, Rey. I trust you are not from Venezuela.
@@Elreymisterio2737what is exactly the truth? Job growth isn’t held up by Honduran bureaucracy?
no they won't. I also live in Latin America and populism is rampant everywhere combined with zero education.
@@panamahub
Most people want to be ruled, military governments were more stable and prosperous for the region.
Honduran government: "We're not getting our bribes!"
Thing is, they are. Prospera does revenue sharing. They're literally just crying about the bad publicity this will bring to the rest of the country
@@dranelemakolmore specifically, its success is ideologically threatening to the government. Hard to get reelected as a socialist leader that shits on the free market if there's a private free market city where life is 10x better than the rest of the country
Libertarianism is real democracy and freedom, the west is not even close to being a democracy and free,
They are also not getting their taxes :/
Zach is really great at making Documentaries and definitely asks better and challenging questions to those he has a similar viewpoint as.
And he is consistent. The cringitarians in the comments section don't faze him.
Libertarianism is real democracy and freedom, the west is not even close to being a democracy and free,
If the new president gets her way she'll create another Venezuela.
Socialism will work this time because I’m in charge!!!!
Did anyone ask "why" she is doing such actions? We are very quick to point...humans react and do things based on actions upon them. No one wakes up and says "I want to be the bad guy"...hopefully with AI we can get the future stable and sorted out
Probably a disciple of the WEF.
@@Nperez1986Her incentives are irrelevant, what matters are the real life implications of the policies she advocates for, which will have a real life impact on real life people.
@@Nperez1986 Her incentives are clear as day. She's part of the Castro dynasty wishing to subjugate whole Latin America under Castro rule. Socialism is just a tool of oppression for her.
Libertarian state inside a socialist country. This will end badly.
It could be a spectacular end.
Prosper needs to use its wealth to build a private military to rival Honduras’ and then build a weapons manufacturing company. Make these socialists afraid to even think about attacking.
The opposite happened to el Salvador.
Bitcoin beach turned them into a thriving country 😊
@@chris0000924 sure...
@@chris0000924 and @thegoldeyfamily9119 the difference is that in El Salvador they didnt make "a state within the State" the president simply went rogue and turn the whole country a sort-a-libertarian experiment, which sort-a-worked
What a beautiful vision. I dream to retire to such a libertarian place
Yeah, the promise of an abolition to the age of consent laws seems to always be a major draw to libertarians.
@@KamZero the criminal laws of Honduras all still apply to the ZEDE
@@desertPersonSomalia is a socialist nation that failed.
@@KamZeroYou say like that's a bad thing, consent laws should be about consent, not about age. By making some sort of "universal consent age" you are disregarding the people that are getting exploited because they are over that age yet cannot mentally consent, plus there are people under that age that can consent. Humans don't all magically become able to consent at one single age, over night.
@@desertPersonSomalia isn't really libertarian, it's a bunch of states fighting amongst eachother. If Somalia would be considered libertarian so would every warzone.
Whatever your political orientation is, you can agree that what we need are more experiments like these to understand what works, what doesn't and why?
Real world experiment are better than 100 years of ivory tower theorizing.
Castro and Latam's ivory tower won't let these experiments run.
Reason makes videos about these ham-fisted libertarian projects regularly… off the top of my head i remember the new hampshire one and the floating city in the ocean pipe dream
Bingo. Let's experiment. I'm sick of people saying things can't work when they've never been tried in earnest before. Then, again, no amount of defeat will discourage some people. Look at communism.
This is true. These experiments are welcomed. The faster their fail the better evidence we have that free market Capitalism is a scam told by ricy people.
Culture, culture, culture. Pick the RIGHT one.
Imagine being an adult and don't understand that socialism is the problem.
@@REL602no 😂
@@REL602
Actually it’s a clear sign of understanding history.
@@REL602 I'm convinced those who push for it are only doing so because they understand that they're such losers that they will fail in a market that's competitive and/or based on merit. Who cares about the risk and the death toll up to this point, right? As long as nobody else is more successful or comfortable than the losers?
funny how all the big capitalists fully promote and push the socialist agenda isn't it?
Guys! It always depends on how you define “socialism” and “capitalism”. These terms must be agreed on before there can be _any_ discussion!
For example, something like anarcho-socialism, and anarcho-communism will be agreed upon by 99% of people if they understand how it actually functions
Prospera Inc has my full support. I hope that they manage to get Hondurans to prosper, though some of them might not see it now, they will thank them later when they have created the Singapur of Central America!
they are only interested in their own prosperity, which will all be based on other people's labor.
typical rent seeking capitalist parasites.
They don’t have my support at all!, is sad to see how lies keep “prospering”
@@Elreymisterio2737 You can't just say that without any elaboration and expect anyone to care what you say
@@JD2jr.How dare you demand evidence. What are you, a dictionary?
@@kevinkerr9310 I identify as a thesaurus, tyvm
I truly hope they succeed!! It'd be a shining example of self-governance. This is how it should be.
Edited for grammar
They want to create a tax haven and refuse to obey laws they do not like - they're crooks and banksters, building mansions without permits to make it look shiny. The only "legal way" to do this is in international waters (like the google oil rigs for unethical medical treatments) - you can't just buy land and do what you want, push police out with militias and call it "libertarian"
if it finds economic success(which i'm assuming is the kind of success you mean) it will become a feudalist zone. libertarianism is just feudalism in a smiley tshirt.
Its a very risky bet. If they manage to accumulate any wealth at all in prospera the state gov will seize it without a second thought in times of extreme hardship.
This is a good summary of any government. If you are standing between the State and wealth it wants, either get out of way or get ready to be run over.
give them guns. Hard to expropriate something when people are willing to defend their homes with their lives.
This isnt the 1950s anymore. It would be really hard to wage war against your own citizens once they realize how well off everything is.
@@honkhonk8009hat is literally the only answer. If it’s hard / violent to take your shit people don’t do it as much.
Not easy for Honduras. Prospera is operated by a US corporation and Honduras is a member of the World Tard Organisation. So , it would face a huge fine(dozens of billions USD) for violating its rules.
Far better than the WWF's ESG corporate feudalism. Some called for developing "economically vibrant green zones" in these countries to give them examples of a better way.
"I can picture in my mind a world without war, a world without hate. And I can picture us attacking that world, because they'd never expect it." - Jack Handey
Libertarianism is real democracy and freedom, the west is not even close to being a democracy and free,
It is the idea of destroying centralization that frightens them.
That's right. Capitalists only want centralization for themselves.
Panama is an enormous central hub for commerce all over Latin America and the Caribbean, not sure why Bogmar is saying there isn’t a business hub in Latin America
white people dont see us as human.
This is really interesting I hope you make a follow up video in the next few years.
This feels like the start of a ghost recon game.
Many people struggle with self-confidence, leaving them open to being tricked by manipulative people who offer false hope in return for obedience. This is why those who value freedom often overcome obstacles, while societies focused on conformity tend to fall apart.
Good luck. Surrounded by authoritarian governments promising free stuff for more control will lead to getting acquired when needed.
Very interesting. I’ve been to Honduras multiple times, and it’s a place replete with resources and natural beauty, all taken away by the government while narcos rule the streets and the people starve to death. This initiative can only improve that place and bring some prosperity.
Its called a company town. Which may be better then abject poverty but theres a reason this has been made illegal in developed countries that have had company towns before.
>Fernando Garcia is a former economic minister
Lol, of what economy?
An economy of terrible roads, poverty and corruption.
Prospera in the year 2040 would make an awesome setting for the next installment of "Bioshock".
I was thinking the same thing. LOL
Idk if this is a bad idea, but what I can say, is that it says a lot that the government officials from Honduras are punching down, being toxic, acting hostile, telling people their victims, when the other side’s message is doing the opposite and saying, let’s give you the power to do what you want. I think the idea of prospera is a great experiment. America is a an experiment. Who is to say that the western world is the only model for governance. People should always experiment and try to figure that answer out for themselves.
Do your own experiment in your own land and your own people. F..K yourselves, build your dream in Nevada or Maine.
Most of the time when I see people complaining about outsiders "taking their land" in actuality it wasn't their land and the owner was paid a premium for it. After it gets developed and is worth more then all of sudden it's "exploitation" and "unfair".
Edit: Some people seem to want to point out irrelevant things in replies to this, so for those idiots:
I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT UNJUSTLY ACQUIRED LAND THROUGH THINGS LIKE IMMINENT DOMAIN AND CONQUERING.
If you did not want to sell it, then the amount you get for it is borderline irrelevant. If somebody forced you to sell the most sentimental object you own for "fair market value" you would still be upset and call it unfair.
@@jasondashney I'm saying they weren't forced. I'm saying it was consensual, they got a great deal at the time, and only later after it has become more valuable do they have regrets. Or it's someone not even involved at all complaining.
It's safe to assume that someone commenting under a libertarian channel is against the forced sale of land and understands the difference before voluntary and involuntary.
It's like telling a moon rock "I own the land this moon...here is some metal coins for it"....That moon rock is going to tell you "what?! This is everyone's 🌙 moon"
Native Americans say hello
@@travisthompson1679 my point wasn’t specific to this video. I was talking more about the concept in general. In Canada the government can take your land and give you a “fair market value“ whether you like it or not because they want to put a road through there or turn it into condos or whatever. This is extremely common and there’s not thing one you can do about it. A good friend of mine‘s father was the one who took the land from people in one of the biggest cities in Canada. If you bought a piece of land five years ago on the outskirts and wanted to keep it and use it as your retirement plan because you thought in 30 years it would be worth a ton of money, too bad. You have to sell it today at fair market value and if the market is down you can get screwed even on that. And technically the government doesn’t have to give you fair market value. They just do because of the optics.
I’m Honduran, and I love this. Keep going guys.
Nationalizing the energy sector worked out so well for South Africa they basically don't have to worry about it anymore.
If there is one thing ive learned from my socialist friends, its this. If something is free, you're the product.
Libertarianism is real democracy and freedom, the west is not even close to being a democracy and free,
so when it comes to air, i'm the product?
As if that's not the same in capitalism. Meaningless statement
I am rooting for Prospera
I lived in Prospera for 10 months since July 2022. I am originally from Slovakia and came to Roatan to help with financial education in the region.
I started to build and operate a Bitcoin Academy you can see in the video at 12:08
Initially I was also skeptical about Prospera and its plans although I am a libertarian.
But meeting the founders of Prospera and all the people who work inside of it to make it successful changed my initial doubts and was one of the main reasons I stayed, started the academy and changed my life completely.
Coming from Slovakia to Central America was a big decision to make for me and my girlfriend.
I suggest everybody who cares about free cities to succeed, come to see us, spend some time, see for yourself and talk to people here.
Or even come to build your business here and help the region to prosper ;)
Hearing that there's a company doing gene therapy trials there because there's less regulation than in the US is troubling. The rest of the examples sound pretty good though.
@@identifying.as.asovereignhuman🎯
And rape the local resources with no accountability too?
I would like to come too, but only one problem is that the central govt may want to take control of the entire region and nationalize it eventually (as all power hungry politicians do)
@@EVtripper what exactly do you mean? I already paid thousands to local carpenters for furniture and other works on the academy and paying salaries to hondurans living and spending money outside of Prospera. I already gave much more then I took. Do you have something specific in mind?
Man I visited Roatan in 2006 when I did an Air Guard trip to Honduras. It's such a beautiful place.
They should look into goldbacks as a medium of exchange for their private cities.
Over one million people in four U.S states are already using them.
I hope that Prospera builds up a standing army, because they are eventually going to need it
I was just thinking, what happens when a cartel invades and the Honduran government just sits back and lets it happen?
You can build guns with basic machinist tools.
The eventuality is always a government with monopoly of force 😂😂
Or, maybe they can do this peacefully.
@alexevans9490 an armed society is a polite one.
around the 20min mark "we are worried about this private group because our government might take our land on their behalf"
i mean, yah it's right to fear such a thing, but that's not the private group's fault, that's the government's fault.
Politicians are more concerned with control than improving the lives of their citizens.
The only way the govt can help its economy is by getting out of the way. The more proactive the govt is in the economy, the worse the results.
Welcome to planet Earth buddy.
Enjoy the fun and sunshine while it lasts!
Honestly, if it can improve the Honduran's lot in life, I'm all for it. I'm happy for the Hondurans who are better off for it. I believe that the people running the place genuinely want to eliminate some human misery if they can. But it mostly looks like a playground for a bunch of millionaire kids spending their parent's money. It reminds of a 1970's-esque hippie commune, just with marginally better funding. The whole experiment looks doomed, between bad relations with the Honduran gov't and lack of buy-in abroad. I'm honestly impressed they've gotten as far as they have.
The notion of grabbing up more territory and expanding the size of the zone is a mistake if you want good relations with the Honduran gov't rather than faux-moralistic posturing. I don't think its a state sovereignty thing, I think its an image/optics thing. Castro, the president, seems to advocate a left leaning, socialized structure and a nearby alternative structure could be interpreted as a threat or humiliation, especially if that structure is doing well. Look at China's treatment of Hong Kong as an example. Nothing was particularly wrong with Hong Kong, but Beijing didn't like it, so... yah. Never underestimate the role of appearances in governance. To be diplomatic, you must seriously consider the concerns of others, regardless of absurdity. Speaking of which, calling the place a mini-state is profoundly dumb if the Honduran gov't is concerned about separatism.
Regardless, that Castro president has her sights set on the zone, and she doesn't seem like the easily persuaded type (though I've heard she's very charming in person, if a bit hot blooded. The daughter Castro parades around scares me though). Attracting big money investors will be hard with her openly and publicly criticizing the project. The ZEDE needs big money investors to prosper in the fashion intended. Castro (probably) figures she isn't getting the investment in Honduras from the ZEDE, so she is going to want to kill the ZEDE (or at least smear it) and make a big show out of it for domestic political support. She'll need that political support for her proposed constitutional rewrite. Congratulations of being the sacrificial lamb on the altar of political capital. I smell a military crackdown and/or 'encouraged' expropriation in the works unless they can secure her buy-in, or at least get her to deliberately ignore the project. In my experience, some less fortunate nations struggle to tell the difference between investment, aid, and colonialism, and admittingly the line can be blurry. They can make a lot of demands that are grossly impractical, and then get mad when you simply can't meet them, and create this endless cycle of rage and stagnation. Doesn't help that you got lefties in North America and Europe who will call you a colonizer if you show interest in a foreign country for any reason at all.
It's a cool social experiment (very cool!), but it isn't getting the results needed, a pretentious video isn't the way to get the results needed, if you can't get the results needed the only question is how painful the end will be
Also, the law exists (de facto) to protect the state from you, and not the other way around. If you think the law (or treaties, or whatever else) will protect the ZEDE indefinitely from the Honduran gov't when you are in Honduras, you're out of your damn minds.
Best of luck!
Thank you for your insights. You are way more articulate and knowledgeable than me but communicate what I feel as well about this situation.
You make a great argument. I do wish the best for Prospera, and all of the Hondurans.
Agreed
Very well put. There is zero chance this will work if they don't get support from the government. End of story. They really need to do a big public campaign, emphasizing that their own constitution for bids expropriation. They also need to fund local community projects. Build some schools and playgrounds etc. You damn well better be making a visible positive difference in the community because being poor does NOT cause people to become depressed and angry. Wealth inequality does. For them it's all a PR campaign. I don't see this experiment ending well, but maybe there are things to be learned from it. Part of the reason I don't see it ending well, that undermines the socialist government's entire message, and reason for existence. Socialism. Then, again, maybe it will work. Stranger things have happened.
"looks like" because that's your bias. The details don't support your conclusion.
The key is to become a successful city state and invest heavily in security and build a private military to rival the country’s military so they won’t mess with you. Have the city-state invest in its own arms manufacturing company
Funny enough you're saying to steal land from Honduras through violence
Cool fascism moment kiddo
You forgot the profit incentive for the victims of warcrimes from your private militia
Clown ass
The spokespeople, especially Brimen, do a very good job of presenting the message/charter/philosophy in this video. I would hope that people outside of the ancap/libertarian world can at least see that there is sincere effort to confront the difficult questions like liability and legal resolution that exist in any society, voluntarist or otherwise. It's a pretty inspring endeavor. My only concern is that they tread lightly with bitcoin emphasis, not due to my preference for fiat (especially in Latin America) but due to my belief that there is something inherent in BTC's original parameters that make it unsuitable for mass adoption (little too much to go into here).
I don't understand how these people keep saying "bitcoin" over and over as if other currencies weren't relevant.
Considering they are libertarians, i would expect them to be far more interested in Monero.
It’s not a free-market if the nation’s criminal law still applies. It essentially gives the government a monopoly on force. As this island starts to prosper and the mainlanders get envious, it’s only a matter of time before the government utilizes that monopoly on force in the favor of the state. So it’s not really volunteerism. It’s pretend volunteerism. This may work well at first, but it’s days are already numbered, unless of course the island could somehow gain complete independence or at the very least complete autonomy.
They need guns and make it an independent state.
One of the most incredible documentaries I've seen on RUclips. Keep it up!
"That is anarcho-capitalism. That is being libertarian. That is destroying the concept of the state."
Your terms are acceptable. 😑😂🤣😂🤣
He really said that like it was fucking Nazism or something.
These communists are delusional. They see people having the freedom to do what they want with minimal red tape, and think its bad.
Exactly why it needs to be destroyed, a taking of the commons by the rich put in place by a coup government of the rich that resisted even mild land reform of the land controlled by a handful of rich families as a throwback to colonialism.
Hong Kong and Singapore are quasi-Georgist, using land rents to fund government (Singapore gets nearly 50% from land and related). However Prospera's land tax rate of 1% seems far too low to limit speculation so I'm dubious they will prosper to the same extent, though perhaps as land vales become more established they can switch from taxing incomes and sales fully to land rents.
Geo libertarianism is based
@snakyjake9 what does that mean?
@@partydean17 Libertarianism + Georgism. Basically free market but you pay a land value tax.
How is speculation the problem? volatility? sorry for my ignorance
@@darkcnotion Without a sufficient land value tax, a speculator can buy up the land and do absolutely nothing productive with little to no cost.
Especially if you want to encourage development in a brand new city, you want the landowners to not only speculate on the future value of the land, but also actively build something valuable on it.
A land value tax ensures efficient land use, and we've seen plenty of success stories in places like Taiwan and Singapore when they adopt Georgist ideas alongside free market principles.
Picture a vacant plot of land in the middle of Manhattan. The land could be used to build critically needed housing, but instead the owner only cares about the future real estate value and keeps it empty, providing zero benefit to anyone else.
It's interesting to watch this video as a honduran that didn't know about prospera u til now 😅
Really interesting how Prospera acquired more land ( from 58 to 1,000 acres) during the pandemic...interesting! Prospera and its affiliates along with, partnered corporations will be held to the universal laws.
Getting strong AOC vibes from that honduran President...
While I tend to consider myself Libertarian in my politics, it's hard to be hopeful that this won't eventually become an oligarchy of the worst kind. I hope to be proven wrong.
I guess if a few individuals take over and make the place unpleasant to live, people will leave. They might set up another place to live. Over time the effort and resources needed to control Prospera will diminish and become worthless.
Pretty amazing it has made it as far as it has.
@@elgoog7830 ponzi scheme
There’s a town in India that has had no government for over 40 years called Gurgaon. It is one of the fastest growing, highest standard of living towns in India. And is rated as the best place to work and live in India.
@@Olivia-bl8ez then it has an unofficial government on the ground no doubt.
probably indirectly.
i'm happy by the equal coverage, reasonTV!
I think the individuals running Próspera should certainly make a point to familiarize the Hondurans with its existence and mission. It would be Earth shattering if it successfully lifted a great portion of the Hondurans out of poverty.
Its basically rich people not wanting to be bothered by anyone not them.
The fact that it describes itself as non-contiguous and favors an "opt-in, opt-out" structure is particularly interesting to me as a Panarchist/Polyarchist. I hope it succeeds so we can see more of this form of geo-political structure around the world.
You can opt-out but all the money you poured in is lost… there isn’t a secondary market to sell your local assets (hell there’s not even a primary one)
Wow what an interesting project!
Glad to be able to follow those happenings on the internet.
If they wanna stay poor, let them.
because they were rich before?
I can say the same thing about americans not wanting to go to college and crying about white working class being oppressed by college liberals.
@jamesmitch9792 that's a viable point. The dynamics change in USA when everyone has a liberal arts degree and the garbage man makes 2x more per year. But then the oppressed liberals cry for student loan forgiveness and I'm debt free and already own my home.
8:25 Fernando Garcia was almost trembling when he said that this was anarcho-capitalism. If that's such a bad thing, and your system of government is such a good thing, why aren't your people wealthy? Or, at least, why aren't they not poor?
Well Honduras had always have capitalist governments, why are we not wealthy then?
This government has only 2 years in chair. The president (narco dictator) that ruled the government (right wing party) that approved the ZEDE law is now in a U.S. prision, charged for drug and gun trafficking, corruption during that government reached historic records. Honduras is poor thanks to the corruption of the anarcho-capitalist governments we have had, each of them supported financial and military by the US.
Exactly, we in LatAm have this problem where ppl think economic freedom means imperalistic backed coup, while people risk their lives to get out.
@@isaakantunez9213. Wrong! Humans thrive when they are free to do so. Honduras is poor because the authoritarian rulers put up roadblocks to prosperity.
@@isaakantunez9213becoming socialist won't change corruption.
@@isaakantunez9213 Maybe because you don't know what capitalism is. If it's corrupt, then it's not capitalist. It's mercantilist or fascist.
This reminds me of the Free State Project in the USA... which has been moving rather slowly but still doing OK.
This is exactly why I am an anarcho capitalist. The freer the market the freer the people.
That wasn't the case when there was no regulation when the Stock Market Crashed fueling the Great Depression.
@@edmonddantes5104 The Great Depression was not caused by no regulation. In fact, the more regulation there is, the less opportunities people have to make money.
@@edmonddantes5104 First off, the stock market has little to do with the real economy. Most businesses are not publicly traded and can continue on no matter what the stock market does.
Second, how about you watch what's happening right now. The Federal "Reserve" is raising rates very fast. This will crash the economy. It's a fact. Just keep watching.
If you watch you will see that the banks are at fault for nearly every economic problem we've had sin 1913 when the Fed was created. Look up the story of The Meeting at Jekyll Island.
do it without government tariffs and sanctions and the threat of US military aggrresions... lets see how far you get.
@@scientifico Well this libertarian program to take cities back from the government seems to be doing great at freeing people from the government and giving people jobs.
This is obviously not being built for the locals and at most there is a potential to benefit them via serving the incoming tourists/work from home PMC'ers and boomers looking to retire there. The likelihood is that they will aggressively expand and own as much as they can get away with, this is not complicated.
This idea works in theory. Someone richer than everyone will buy everything as an incentive to profit. Some things have to be slightly regulated, or else you won't have a free market. The free market is the most essential part. There has to be competition or else you'll end up with the private version of authoritarianism
@DavidLopez-rk6em you should take a look at what "free market" is looking like in the states these days. Corporate consolidation, collusion and corruption of the 3 branches of government, all part of the end game to have very few companies monopolizing everything. This is the US's biggest export and exposes the myth of free markets for the farce it is.
You don’t have to be the primary beneficiary in order to benefit greatly. Before this project there was no money, no medicine, no education for the locals. What kind of life is that?
The gentleman at minute 25:00 was mad saying "Eso es anarco capitalismo, eso es ser libertario". I found it really funny that some people think that libertarianism is a bad thing, that people just don't want to let others live their lives in peace. Never forget what the socialism made to Venezuela, Argentina and Cuba.
I am pleased to see this
Government and economics doesn't matter. The only question is are people willing to work together. That is the ONLY defining factor. Someone gets power and squashes everyone else
25:05 Good summary, this is exactly what we want.
it's pretty much the opposite of what i want thanks.
@@axeman2638 In anarchy, you can collectivize and make some kind of "state". However, forcing people to stay is the problem of the state. Keeping people against their will isn't going to improve these smaller collectives of people, so clearly statism wouldn't work at the larger, national scale. The emphasis is about allowing people to freely choose, especially in times when the leader of the collective is running inefficiently.
@@axeman2638So don't go there. Simple as that. Is this your normal state of operating? Telling everyone what they should do. You also go to your neighbour and tell them what they should have for a dinner, and you don't like what they have. You are immoral 🐷 red disease.
23:14 - 23:18 "In order for there be maximized human prosperity, you need freedom"
Absolutely based statement, I wish more people learned about the importance of economic freedom to the decreasing of poverty and corruption.
My first reaction at seeing the interview subject was "Remy built a town!"
Based president.
City? Seriously? I view it as a small, gated community with unusual internal regulations.
I was literally in tears watching this. 😊😊 I can foresee such good coming from this model.
Man I wish we could do this in the United States...
It already exists. They are called country clubs.
Which ironically are rather socialist on nature.
there's several examples of it being done, Disney in Florida is one, though they really pushed their luck there LOL
I had a dream about this idea. We need to adopt this model in the US because our issue is that local governments restrict development to an insane degree. Dense mix use neighborhoods are associated with poverty, homelessness, and crime. However, if we can privatize a dense walkable mix use neighborhood, then that "corporation" can kick out unwanted (the homeless and drug addicts). At the same time, the corporation can provide a floor in the standard of living for its all workers.
This is the people's answer to corruption and unnecessary red tape.
Yeah, a company town, where your residence is contingent on your employer, reminds me of the PRC's Hukou system
@@hobog Yeah, it shows how bad corruption is in that country, if people's best choice is private cities. Which is sad, really really sad.
Actually, the US should ban foreigners from buying our property. All it does is make our property more expensive for the people who live and work here. While our taxes and people pay for the military, police and firefighters to defend that property.
disagree
Fun fact the founding fathers were not democrats or republicans they were libertarians.
They owned slaves, dork
And Masons, like the guy in ORANGE is telling those with eyes to see.
No they objectively were not. And most of the Founders debated vociferously over the level of federal power.
@@RextheRebel I don't know I've heard a lot of different people refer to them as libertarians.
@@RextheRebel there wasn’t even democrat or republican as categories back then
No queremos Zedes en Honduras, no mas discriminacion, no a unas zonas privilegiadas y otras pobres. Si nos vamos a desarrollar sera estando juntos, todo el pais. Ni un centimetro de Honduras a las Zedes.
Honduras having crazy Chávista as president and I don't like government monopoly of power grid . I from puerto rico and the power company is owned by the government of Puerto Rico
when governments owned the power grids power was cheaper and more reliable, privatisation has brought nothing but price gouging and infrastructure breakdown, which the public are expected to pay to fix every time. public risk, private profit. No thanks.
libertarians are greedy spoiled little brats that never learned how to share their toys.
It is controlled by a private company though
but you didn't mention that because...
@@jamesmitch9792 let Got straight and theyre are off-the-grid energy movement and why we have to have one company with power company. battery power for TV but not yet cookware
Imagine decentralizing energy.
This is amazing
how many years you think it will take before she expropriates their land for the good of the people lol
true volunteerism is the only reason why i support Prospera's libertarian city; it shows that Prospera builds upon the concept of giving a free choice from the start as its foundations!
I would love if we could spring these up all over the world, then like try and nudge everyone into globalising over time, eventually they will listen.
I don’t want to globalize. Why don’t you just move to Sudan then? Go global somewhere else on the globe.
Sounds like a great idea, with the best of intentions. What could possibly go wrong
Dude can’t imagine this in America or Europe? Introduce him to the Reedy Creek Improvement District in Florida.
Or Prudhoe Bay (Deadhorse) in Alaska.
These are some of these most prosperous places in the US, with amazingly happy people.
@@FreelanceDev4life The dude who said it was opposing it and implying that no local governments in the USA would cede authority to experimental self-governing development projects.
Too bad Desantis is a Socialist
You mean Disney. Not lib-land my friend.
@@thinkcasting3182 I’m well aware. Just saying that US authorities have already done exactly what he thinks is unconscionable/unthinkable so his argument against the Honduras experiment falls flat.
*talks with everyone in the city who says it's awesome*
*talks with only two people who say maybe it's only half decent*
Seems fair when making a video in a country that had an election where business like these were an issue. Great video!!!
It’s funny how only rich people with means advocate libertarianism.
right? hmmmm its almost as if they are totally detached from reality... or the idea of coercion and colonialism...
Lol what? It’s the exact opposite in the USA.
@@gomi_catLibertarianism is specifically fighting coercion and colonialism.
@@PinkFZeppelin How so?
@@markwac247 I guess we’d have to define what we mean by libertarianism for this to be a meaningful conversation. But for the most part the rich make their money from regulatory capture or cottage industries and would like to continue that. For example, real estate is the best investment in the USA due to government policy such as zoning for artificial scarcity, and tax breaks that make it lucrative relative to other industries. Then the government supports the debt economy through the federal reserve and Keynesian economics. Another example is Tesla and electric car subsidies, which made the worlds richest man. Lastly, the USA has weak property rights in the eyes of libertarians. If we had strong property rights us as citizens could sue for pollution damage to our property, for example. Which is why libertarians believe there would be better environmental protections under their system. But libertarian may mean something different to you so maybe you’re thinking of something different than I am.
If the idea is so good...WHY NOT IMPLEMENT IT IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY?
Well....because we don't have so many poor, disempowered and ignorant citizens there like they do here. It is their greatest resource!
Could you make a spanish version of this video plz? I'd like to show this to honduran friends
AI is your friend.
I think you can use YT generated translation on the video.
THANK YOU FOR SHOWING US ALL THE FACES OF THE PEOPLE CON LOS QUE HAREMOS PATRIA
Several of the libertarian type of experiments didn't turn out but I'm curious to see what happens in this case, especially because it seems like they're embracing regulation? And my experience with other experiments in a libertarian society is that they didn't want regulations or laws or anything like that. Everyone seemed to want to do whatever they wanted, regardless of how it affected their immediate neighbors.
What libertarian experiments are you referring to?
@@randymiller3918Im also interested. Tell us please
@@notpokorp948 Check out my response to @randymiller3918
Libertarianism is real democracy and freedom, the west is not even close to being a democracy and free,
4:56
That is not true though. Honduras has generally seen a higher vertical building density in its main cities. One of the leading companies working on that is Celaque, and its owner is known for being an honest man, and quite an enemy of the current political party in power. They are building a skyscraper in Tegucigalpa, and no traces of corruption have been noticed thus far. So, although the documentary has very spot-on data, this particular statement is false information, or a false accusation, rather. At least to my knowledge as a honduran.
There is not a Singapore of central America? That is literally the nickname of Panama.
As a student of history, I see nothing but a bleak future for this.
The conspicuous contrast, wealth inequality, cultural and language differences, and just plain "otherness" one side sees in the other, will not make for long term success for Prospera...
Wishful thinking, you don't want it succeed, yo want the government to be a mother figure.
Business funds everything. Government funds nothing.
Except all the largest and most successful business in the world were subsidized with government funding.
@@RextheRebel Some were, but they weren't all. Incidentally, it is, by definition, impossible to subsidize all business. Additionally, you do realize that some of the big ones are big precisely because they formed from former government monopolies, right?
So good to see this kind of development happening.
An example of proper private-public partnership.