https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmXdnqXGxnhfzRgfKhCRfA2D7PcpG27EtzrYF4USB1hdT1/image.png 7 min read Disclaimer: This is my first post on Steemit, while I did proof-read, I would appreciate any grammatical or other constructive feedback. # **Unpopular Government** The US government is hated by its citizens. As of January of 2020, the job approval of the US federal congress is 23%.¹ To give some perspective to how disliked the US government is, a 2019 Axios and Harris Poll that attempts to gauge the reputation of the most visible brands ranked the US government last, lower than Phillip Morris, Comcast, and Wells Fargo.² This isn't an issue of which party is in power and it is hard to imagine the rest of the world has a more charitable opinion of the US government. https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZ2vN1rq3urv5ve67so2i4nZaovqdKY2fygDMJsdhrt2B/image.png ¹Congressional Job Approval over the past 46 years With numbers like these, one might think the US was a despotic regime ran by a cigarette salesman with terrible customer service who has a habit of non-consensually opening bank accounts under people's names, but in fact the US is a constitutional republic. The United States government is this hated *despite* it ranking 17th in overall freedom by the Cato Institute.³ Citizens vote for their president, and state's congressman. The US has a constitution that is supposed to protect citizen rights and yet, its government is still so disliked. This public opinion isn't *necessarily* a judgement on US democracy *relative* to other working governments in the world, after all there are a lot of democratic governments who trust their government less, but shouldn't everyone expect more after 244 years (despite being a younger country, the US is considered the longest standing democracy in the world)? Why isn't public opinion of the US government improving rather than stagnating? Is democracy really the: "worst form of government except for all of those other forms that have been tried from time to time"? https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmPBZvYTJY7TaGi5hbgNf2x3JytSJ16Hv2uhfT7YtYjahS/image.png ⁴Trust in government in democratic countries # **Incentives Problem** One of the principles of economics taught in one's first econ class is: "people respond to incentives." American politicians are people (even [reptile shapeshifters](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/07/conspiracy-theory-paranoia-aliens-illuminati-beyonce-vaccines-cliven-bundy-jfk) are people) so they respond to incentives just like everyone else. These incentives can lead to politicians acting in ways that help themselves and their constituents at the cost of the rest of the country, even if the net benefit is negative. A great example of this is tariffs. Many Americans support specific tariffs on goods their state produces, and it may be perfectly rational do so, but the issue is when a country starts putting import tariffs on many goods. The Wisconsin politician gets higher dairy tariffs, the Michigan politician gets higher car tariffs, and the Pennsylvanian politician gets higher steel tariffs. All of these actions could be rational, however the result is Wisconsin farmer suddenly finds that cars and farming equipment are more expensive, the Michigan and Pennsylvanian factories find that their food and heavy machinery is more expensive; everyone would have been better off if there were none (or only tariffs on what they produce). https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmSjPMcao8cSHbbEgvyeHqKrYRKA8LFShyujHBSZBXnTRs/image.png This process could explain in-part why the US government is so disliked, after all, a state only gets 1/50 of the votes in the senate, and a small fraction of the votes in the house of representatives. When enough bills help individual or groups of states at a greater cost to all of the other states, everyone ends up worse off. # **A New Alternative** In September of 2013, Honduras passed Decree No. 120-2013, new legislation that would allow the creation of Zonas de Empleo y Desarrollo Económico (ZEDE).⁵ ZEDEs are similar to special economic zones, of which notable examples include Shenzhen and parts of Dubai. Unlike special economic zones however, ZEDEs enable semi-autonomous private governance including private policing, courts, and even private tax structure.⁶ These zones will allow for more experimentation in governance than ever before, and while many fundamental rights could theoretically be not provided in a ZEDE, prospective citizens can choose whether or not to move to one based on the rights being offered by the private ZEDE operator. # **Próspera** https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmUPLVJcmobnak2cNnarokZ1HYrEfNTFDBEqg8kCB7jPU1/image.png ⁷A possible future Próspera Próspera, the first ZEDE in Honduras was announced in May of 2020 with an initial 58 acre area devoted to the first homes. This zone is located on the Caribbean island of Roatán, a popular cruise port with an airport and primarily English speaking population. The Próspera website emphasizes how the zone has opportunity for tourism including the 54 billion dollar (2017) medical tourism industry due to its "modern regulatory structure". The island of Roatán already sees over 1.2 million tourists a year and has a population of 50 thousand.⁷ https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmVf5tk26dLUTA4f8wxsPBzu3rcA4wVuCJdFPGP7J3Np2Z/image.png ⁷Roatan, an island of the central american country Honduras The government of Próspera is organized similar to a city council with nine members, five of which are elected democratically by Próspera residents and four chosen by Honduras Próspera LLC. All council members serve 7 year terms without any term limits. It should be noted that before Próspera reaches 10,000 residence or before August 2025 (whichever is first), only landowners vote (weighted by amount of land) also, the technical secretary is not democratically elected until a population density of 35 inhabitants per square kilometer is achieved (average Honduran rural population density).⁸ New statutes pass with two thirds support of the Próspera council and only if not disapproved by the Committee for the Adoption of Best Practices (CAMP), an unelected group that oversees all ZEDEs in Honduras. A final check is that residents of Próspera (after a population of 10 thousand is reached) have the ability to repeal rules if a 2/3rds majority of votes available for casting is reached (only a majority is required if the referendum is before 7 days after a rule's proclamation); this process can include charter amendments and subsequent rules.⁸ Despite the Honduran ZEDE law theoretically allowing for zones to be created with very few protections, the Próspera charter includes guaranteed right to life, property, freedom of thought, speech, conscience, and religion, due process, self defense, privacy, and presumption of innocence. The charter also includes a clause stating any currency may be transacted in Próspera.⁸ The protections provided, especially those regarding property rights and contracts are clearly gears towards encouraging investment into the Próspera ZEDE but the stability of the host country could determine the success of this project. Plagued with drug related violence, Honduras went through a coup in 2009 after Manuel Zelaya pushed for a poll to gauge public support of rewriting the constitution which the Honduran supreme court ruled as illegal. Honduras is now in its second democratically elected presidency since the 2009 coup. While on paper, Próspera is given the ability to provide the protections it includes in its charter, with a coup only eleven years ago, some may question if its host country will forever continue to honor its guarantees.⁹ # **A Possible future** With any luck, Próspera could become an example of a new better way of governance. The Honduran ZEDE framework could allow the creation of many new experiments into how people are governed and with any luck, find new better ways of providing efficient governance people want. There may never be a one size fits all approach to governance; it is possible that the disparate interests across large countries like the United States means that to gain the trust and support of citizens requires many systems. One might imagine a future where those that desire free healthcare live in a ZEDE that provides it, while those who want few government services live in a very different ZEDE. Societies like Próspera may be the solution to an increasingly polarized world where people will vote more with their feet rather than with a ballot. # **Continuing the Discussion** I would love to hear what you think of ZEDEs and Próspera. I realize when writing this that I have a strong libertarian bias so I am especially interested in possible issues you see that I overlooked. For those who are more legal minded, I would encourage you to read the Próspera Charter (source 8). It is a very manageable sized document (second half is the same but in Spanish) that goes into the weeds of the organization of Próspera. Sources 1. [news.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx](https://news.gallup.com/poll/1600/congress-public.aspx) 2. [axios.com/axios-harris-poll-corporate-reputations](https://www.axios.com/axios-harris-poll-corporate-reputations-bcc0c03d-0bb5-4eb1-b591-4622bb4b01ed.html) 3. [cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/human-freedom-index-files/2018](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/human-freedom-index-files/human-freedom-index-2018-revised.pdf) 4. [pewresearch.org/global/2017/10/16/many-unhappy-with-current-political-system](https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2017/10/16/many-unhappy-with-current-political-system/) 5. [tsc.gob.hn/web/leyes/Ley_zonas_empleo_desarrollo_eco_2013.pdf](https://www.tsc.gob.hn/web/leyes/Ley_zonas_empleo_desarrollo_eco_2013.pdf) (The ZEDE law in Spanish) 6. [nlginternational.org/report/Final_NLG_ZEDE_Report.pdf](https://www.nlginternational.org/report/Final_NLG_ZEDE_Report.pdf) 7. [prospera.hn](https://prospera.hn/) (The official website) 8. [pzgps.hn/charter-bylaws-1-2](https://pzgps.hn/charter-bylaws-1-2/) (Próspera Charter in Spanish and English) 9. [npr.org/2012/02/12/146758628/who-rules-in-honduras-a-coups-lasting-impact](https://www.npr.org/2012/02/12/146758628/who-rules-in-honduras-a-coups-lasting-impact)