What would happen if we started treating governments more like startups? Since there aren't enough free nations to find out, the Seasteading Institute hopes to take to the ocean to live out the idea. Surrounded by drugs, sex, and libertarians, n+1 reports on what it's like aboard a weeklong seastead experiment in a California river. Many of the group shared a common dream, in which one day citizens of any country could dart from one small city-state to another, ultimately settling in whichever had the finest form of governance. “People dismiss the idea as crackpotish,” one Institute donor conceded. But he's hoping that with a heavy reliance on technology, the idea could start to look reasonable. "If you address them as you would your fellow futurist, it might be more palatable."