Lucy Connolly: twelve months in jail for a deleted tweet

The case of Lucy Connolly, a British mother of three who was jailed for 12 months for posting an offensive tweet that was later rapidly deleted, has attracted global attention and outrage from supporters of free speech.

In a rare interview since her release, she sat down with Free Cities Podcast host Timothy Allen to discuss the details of the police visit to her home, the prison sentence imposed under the Public Order Act, the women she met in prison, and what her case says about free speech in Britain today.

We cover this topic because it highlights the direction in which some societies often thought of as open and liberal are moving, and the alternative that Free Cities can offer. In Free Cities, protection of free speech is foundational, and projects that attempted to impose draconian speech laws would struggle to attract free-thinking residents. Listen on Fountain.

A friendly challenge: three reasons to start new countries

Andy J. Starr, founder of the Startup States Society, has published a counter-argument to our Substack piece Why Free Cities, Not New Countries. His response, 3 Reasons to Start New Countries, Not New Cities, argues that autonomy negotiated with a host government will always be conditional, while a new country sets its own terms permanently. "Why build in someone else's sandbox," Starr asks, "when, for a little extra effort, you might negotiate for your own box?"

Andy makes a thought-provoking case and we wish aspiring new country founders like him every success. We would argue, however, that "a little extra effort" is doing a lot of work in his question. Read Andy's article here.

A wave of seasteaders join the conference

The Free Cities Conference takes place in Próspera from September 3 to 6, the first time we've held our flagship event inside a functioning Free City. The seasteading movement will be represented in force, with Joe Quirk, Mason of Atlas Island, Mitchell Suchner of ArkPad, and pioneer seasteader Chad Elwartowski all confirmed. Maritime lawyers O. Shane Balloun and Jorge Schmidt also plan to join them. They are working with The Seasteading Institute to have seasteads classified under international law, which will help legitimize them and provide a legal basis for their military defense. To join us, get tickets at freecitiesconference.com.

Governance as an investable asset class

In this week's blog post, Alex Voss argues that governance itself should be treated as an investable asset class. The Autonomous Upside makes the case that institutional quality is one of the deepest drivers of long-term returns, and that autonomous cities give investors direct exposure to that variable. Read the full piece.

Free Cities in the international media

Titus Gebel has joined a German-language philosophy podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on German society, politics, and his Free Private Cities concept. Listen on Spotify.

A new Spanish-language documentary, the Digital Nomad Series, profiles three people who have built location-independent lives in Argentina, with episode one following Alina, a creative director from Siberia who now runs her design agency from anywhere in the world. The impulse it captures—choosing where and how you live rather than letting geography decide—is the same one driving the broader case for Free Cities. Watch on YouTube.

Final thoughts

This newsletter has provided a round-up of some of the major stories affecting the Free Cities movement this week. We also want to highlight our new Substack, an additional resource for readers looking for quality, medium-form opinion pieces that explore hot topics related to Free Cities.

Our Substack will be expanding significantly over the coming weeks, with a range of new essays, interviews, and guest contributions planned. Subscribe today so you don't miss any of the upcoming content.

Your Free Cities Foundation Team