Can tech billionaires replace democracy? | BBC News

Liberland was founded by libertarians. And libertarians hate taxes, regulations and big government. Instead of trying to fight the government in their own countries, the Liberlanders realized they could use blockchain technology to just make their own, replacing pesky politicians and laws with compliant computer code. Liberland represents a bold vision for the future. One where sovereignty, innovation and the individual's freedom are at the center of society. This tech libertarian utopia has attracted the support of around 30 billionaires, many of them from the world of crypto. We're building the first decentralized autonomous government and also the freest country in the world. When Liberland's president, Vít Jedlička, found a muddy bit of land in the Danube River, unclaimed by neighboring Serbia nor Croatia, he spotted an opportunity. Thus, Liberland was born. But, as that island still has no roads or electricity, for the time being, the founding fathers of Liberland have set up an outpost called Ark Village just across the river. So we're all in here, yeah? We're all in here. I guess it takes a while to build one of these communities into a billionaire-suitable community. Nice. Free country, isn't it? Yeah. I'm looking for your president, is he around? Yes, I will bring you to the president. He's upstairs, we're waiting for you for breakfast. Come in, welcome. Thank you, thank you. To the Ark. Mr. President, Matt. Nice meeting you, Matt. How are you doing? Good, good, thanks so much for having me. Yeah, please, please join us for breakfast, guys. Great. Yeah, we'll actually show you around the plots that we bought around this property, where we want to build longevity clinic and spa. I think longevity tourism in general will be one of the key businesses, not just cryptocurrencies, not just AI, which we already have quite a lot. How many companies generally are registered? I think we've got 200 active companies right now. Really? Registered in Liberland? And is this your son here? Hello. Are you a citizen of Liberland yourself? No. Check it. He's got his passport, of course. Oh nice, a Liberland passport. Cool, one question about Micronation. Just this weekend, a friend in Switzerland of mine, he sent me a link about Vertis. Have you heard this? It's a stupid question. We know those guys. You know that guy? It's like another Micronation, it just opened. I never heard about it, just this weekend. It's not good to ask. We had a special deal, David, that you will not intervene in our conversations and you are still unable. But I made a deal with you that you will not intervene in the interview and that's the first thing you have to do. And you cannot help yourself, right? If you could just leave completely, I would really appreciate it. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you. This is actually arc, like the main base of Liberland for now in the region. Oh nice, I didn't see any of this because I arrived late in the night. In most modern democracies, everyone has an equal vote. But things are different in Liberland, thanks to a crypto token called Liberland Merits. The elections are every three months. They're taking place on blockchain and the person is elected with merits. So the people that have more merits are able to have more say in who is going to be in the leadership of the country. And can you purchase Liberland Merit? Yes, yes. This sort of system, it does allow people with more money to have more power essentially and pay less tax. You don't pay taxes in Liberland, they're voluntary. This will no longer be Liberland if we start taking people's money. I mean maybe we can actually make a photo in front of the house together. Nice gathering. Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go. Let's make some 3D scans. Whenever I make agreement with you not to intervene with something, if you can stick to that agreement. So will we be able to visit Liberland? There's conditions for visiting Liberland from Croatian side because I've got this five-year ban from Croatia. And what's that for? That's for building Liberland. The problem with starting a tiny new country is that you sometimes have to contend with proper countries, ones with armies and police forces. Vit and the other Liberlanders have regularly been apprehended by the Croatian authorities while trying to visit the island. Don't touch myself, don't touch me, don't touch me. No! At the moment, the only option for visitors like me is to see the island by boat. Today we're going to embark on a voyage across many borders. Serbia, Croatia, Liberland. It fills me with such pride every time my eyes gaze upon our land. Here we see Liberty Island and it's great to know we have settlers there right now. They're braving the elements and putting up with constant checks by the Croatian police. Yeah. But they still maintain a presence there and we really have to respect and admire their courage. It's an inspiration to us all. On the day the border opened, August 6th, 2023, I spent eight days in Liberland and it was a dream come true. The moment I stepped over that imaginary line in the road leading into Liberland, it was just magic. Great. There's our people right there. Wow, so these are the permanent settlers of Liberland down there. Martin's like your whole kind of government right now, really. He is holding the fort. Martin, we have to decorate you. We have two people to decorate today. Martin, we appreciate your involvement very much. I will hand it over to you during the Christmas party, during the Constitutional Convention, but it's here for you, for the bravery. This is for you and for your... How many years now? Three. Three years. Very good service taking care of this ship. We appreciate your commitment to building the freest country on the planet. Thank you, Mr. President. Let's have some drinks downstairs. Let's celebrate that a little bit. And... I'm ready to die for Liberland. Please don't. Blib blib blib. Blib blib blib to the first lady. Blib blib blib. It has become really good, these VRs. Like, you really, like, feeling... Streaming from Liberland Wi-Fi. Is this what Liberland's going to look like? No, this is... Oh my God. I see towering, gleaming skyscrapers with floating public parks. I see waterfalls. I see mountains. You're going to struggle with that one, I think. Yeah, I think this is going to be pretty expensive, guys. Our Prime Minister, Justin Sun, could easily contribute $100 million. He wouldn't mind because it's, like, one week of his personal income at the current Trump fees. With their new wealthy backers, Liberland may now actually have the money to start building. But to become officially recognized, they'll also need political support. I see some opportunities for us. There are some people in the current administration that are friendly towards Liberland. Like who in particular? I would say Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Walsh. We've met with him. Is Liberland really about liberty for everyone or just people who are really, really rich? To find out, I'm speaking with Liberland's Interior Minister, who has just invited me for a ride in his brand new Mercedes. The king of wood likes this car the most. Mercedes as a brand, yes. Why does he love it so much? It's his favorite brand. A man of taste. Yep. And how does he get them in? Oh, if you have money, you can do whatever you want. Ivan Pernar started his political career as a controversial Croatian MP who was notoriously kicked out of parliament for spreading conspiracy theories. Upon leaving, he met Vit and shortly after, became Interior Minister of Liberland. My job is to ensure your freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom of speech, freedom to say what you believe. Liberland is a project which attracts people on ideological level. Usually, people who believe in freedom, decentralized finances and so on, they tend to be from the upper class of society. That is a certain new elite, isn't it? Yes. For example, this is Philip Patek watch, for example. Okay, congratulations. Very nice rose gold model, you know. In England, there are high taxes on such luxury items. This is one of the things why people would like to join this project. But only people who you allow to join the project. Yes. If you make a zero selection and just say whoever comes on boat is welcome, we would end up like UK. We don't want that. So you get to decide who joins. Who on board. Who comes into the castle, basically. Yes, but you have to be picky. So it's liberty, but... For selected few. Some people have more liberty than others. Yes. Because it does strike me that one of the main merits that allows you to have power and influence within Liberland is money, right? Of course, of course, of course. Right, of course, okay. If you leave a bunch of bums in your country without anything and who just demand something, then on the other hand, somebody's got to pay for that. Could taxation as a redistribution of wealth be seen as a way to give more freedom to people, to give more liberty to people? No, no, because there was some story about wildlife reserve in America. There are animals there and it's written, don't feed the animals. Yeah. Because if you do, they will be accustomed to that and they will lose ability to feed themselves. Right. To find the way. And the same is with people. You like liberty, right? That's the whole thing, liberty. Economic liberty. Yes, okay. Well, the system that you are describing denies more people economic liberty than the system that exists in most Western nations today. If that is your opinion, you can have it. Although I would disagree. Is liberty just for the wealthy? Is that really a just way to run society? Look, that's a very tricky question. Now you got me in a situation where I have a hard time to answer. But I would say correctly, only people who have economic freedom can indeed be free. Literally, the criticisms that most people have of democracies, that wealthy people have too much power and that other people have less political power, that inequality is actually written into the constitution of Liberland. It might seem like a group of travelers with a few tents in a floodplain in the middle of the Danube River. But the fact that it's tied to 30 billionaires means that this is actually a future that some of the most powerful people in the world envision for all of us.