Praxis: The Tech Billionaire-Funded City-State Utopia in Greenland

Cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence have further fueled the ambitions of those designing “perfect cities,” populated primarily by technologists, creatives, and specialists, and governed by the principles of free-market economics. These models often feature a single, powerful leader – a CEO-monarch – presiding over a population of shareholders rather than citizens. Some projects, like Akon City in Senegal, have failed before even getting off the ground. The pursuit of these utopian visions has been marked by both experimentation and setbacks.

More concrete experiments in Central America have largely resulted in tax havens: Puerto Rico, which has incentivized crypto entrepreneurs with favorable tax policies, and El Salvador, where President Bukele created Prospera in Honduras. Conceived by Nobel laureate Paul Romer, Prospera was established on the island of Roatan under a 50-year concession from the Honduran government as a “special economic zone,” attracting investment through minimal taxation and substantial self-governance. However, Prospera now faces legal challenges: Romer has disavowed the project, alleging illegal activities, and the Honduran Supreme Court last year declared the city-state unconstitutional, leading to ongoing international legal disputes. This case highlights the complexities of establishing autonomous zones within existing national frameworks.

Now, a new project is gaining attention, driven by a combination of technological ambition and a specific political ideology: Praxis. Backed by Silicon Valley investors, Praxis seeks to influence Donald Trump and potentially establish a new city-state. The project’s vision is rooted in a tecno-authoritarian approach.

Founded in 2020, Praxis has set out to “revitalize Western civilization with technolibertarian cities.” Like other similar ventures, the project draws inspiration from Ayn Rand’s ultra-libertarian philosophy. However, it also reflects a desire to counter the rise of the “Global South” and reassert the dominance of the West – and, according to some supporters, white populations. The name itself is deliberately provocative, referencing the concept of praxis from Aristotle to Marx. The two founders, Dryden Brown, a California native and Ayn Rand enthusiast, and Charlie Callinan, came together after Brown took a job at a hedge fund. Brown, who reportedly earned funds for the project through a golf tournament with Callinan, conceived the idea for a city-state during a trip to Puerto Rico after witnessing the unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Key financial backing for the initiative has come from tech industry titans, including Peter Thiel, Sam Altman through Apollo Projects, the Winklevoss brothers (co-founders of Facebook and cryptocurrency investors), Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, and Sam Bankman-Fried, a cryptocurrency mogul who later faced legal troubles. Also involved is Balaji Srinivasan, the former chief technology officer of Coinbase, whose book, *The Network State*, has become a manifesto for technoutopians. Srinivasan proposes abolishing nation-states and borders in favor of a digital world comprised of interconnected, autonomous enclaves.

Until recently, Praxis remained largely conceptual, operating out of an office in Manhattan’s Soho district where a small team worked on plans for a city near Santa Barbara, California. A subsequent search for a location for 10,000 “free citizens” shifted focus to the Mediterranean, but that effort also failed.

Praxis continues to pursue its vision, bolstered by the willingness of its investors to commit hundreds of millions of dollars. The project is now betting on Donald Trump, who has expressed enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies, digital technologies, and artificial intelligence – all seen as crucial for maintaining U.S. technological leadership. Trump’s apparent openness to tecno-authoritarianism, and a potential opportunity to gain control of Greenland, could pave the way for an experiment in Arctic utopia.

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