Resurgence of US Private Cities

We live in a state with rules and those rules guarantee certain freedoms. When put together, some interpret those collective freedoms as sovereignty and what better way to demonstrate ultimate sovereignty than to build and run your own city? 

Source: ChatGPT, 10/9/25

Is there really a substantial difference between the 1980s Oregon desert city of Rajneeshpuram and the 2020s Texas coastal flats city of Starbase? If you need a quick refresher on Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and the city he legally incorporated in Oregon, read my February 15, 2025 post. 

What Do I think

I believe they are inherently the same and a precursor of more to come. Cities normally grow organically in that people settle, attract people, jobs, arts, and culture, and then eventually incorporate for self-governance. But both Rajneeshpuram and Starbase were born out of visions from their leaders: Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and Elon Musk. There was no natural evolution.

Sure, the labels are different: religious leaders vs corporate CEO; commune vs corporation; devotees vs employees; and spiritual elevation vs interplanetary elevation, but both bought rural, isolated land that was far away from settled populations, built infrastructure from scratch, incorporated their towns, governed, and policed them. The city officials were extensions of their founders, governing to serve the founder and his mission, not the public. 

But this is America, with its complex feudal system and multiple layers of law. Both the U.S. and state constitutions and laws apply to all within its boundaries, irrespective of municipal status. While Rajneeshpuram relied on the first amendment to establish itself and Starbase relied on the Commerce clause, both faced other constitutional challenges that threatened their existence. 

Can a religious establishment own and govern a city? Not according to the courts. Can a corporation run one? That is left to be seen but American history is riddled with company towns in the form of mining towns, gold rush towns, and other industrial towns from Carnegie’s Pittsburgh Pennsylvania to Anaconda’s Butte Montana. Can environmental laws and flood zones (which Starbase is entirely based in) be completely ignored in a private city?

Why Should You Care?

Whenever a city becomes a private playground instead of an incubating, naturally evolving public space, our governance and cultural structures instinctively fight back. The Rajneeshees learned that the promise of freedom is not the same as the right to rule. Starbase is about to find out whether a city designed for rockets can survive the gravity of zoning law and takings claims. 

But both are similar chapters in the old American story of company towns. Past generations have tried it, Bhagwan and Musk more recently, and others will in the near future. Our constitution ensures you get to decide what rights, structures, and governance you want to control and what you want to relinquish to others. And some, despite your desire, cannot be relinquished.