You Have $1 Billion. How Do You Change the World?
This is an edition of Up for Debate, a newsletter by Conor Friedersdorf. On Wednesdays, he rounds up timely conversations and solicits reader responses to one thought-provoking question. Soon after, he publishes some thoughtful replies. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Last week I asked, if given $1 billion to improve the world however you see fit, how would you spend it? And while some of you complained that $1 billion wasn’t nearly enough (as if I’m made of imaginary money to dole out), many of you nevertheless dreamed big.
Jackson went so far as to propose a new nation!
If America/California is no longer willing or able to be the world's “land of opportunity,” we need to build a new one. If I had a billion dollars, I would negotiate with some government to purchase and acquire sovereignty over an uninhabited or sparsely populated island or peninsula large enough to support a city, then build a small settlement governed by a constitution that guarantees to all people a right to immigrate there and quickly acquire equal citizenship provided only they be willing to work to build their city.
Once a viable settlement was established, the government would sponsor and organize transportation to the city for any refugees that wish to come from anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, demand for a haven and a land of opportunity will likely always be high. Refugees and would-be migrants need somewhere to go, but currently, no existing democracy automatically accepts immigrants, and
