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Anyone read The Sovereign Individual?

Speculatooor

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I'm halfway through this book and it amazes me so much. I think it is in my top 5 of the ~100 books I have read the past years.

"Mastering the transition to the Information Age" is a must, and people who are not will be left behind and it won't be pretty.
 
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guitarguru12

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I'm halfway through this book and it amazes me so much. I think it is in my top 5 of the ~100 books I have read the past years.

"Mastering the transition to the Information Age" is a must, and people who are not will be left behind and it won't be pretty.
I just finished it on audiobook.

I hate to use a term that's thrown around all too often these days, but it's an actual game-changer. It's radically altered the way I look at the world.

I'm currently recommending it to just about everyone I know who I think can handle it.

Insane to think it was written in '96. Prescient as hell
 

Speculatooor

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I just finished it on audiobook.

I hate to use a term that's thrown around all too often these days, but it's an actual game-changer. It's radically altered the way I look at the world.

I'm currently recommending it to just about everyone I know who I think can handle it.

Insane to think it was written in '96. Prescient as hell

I agree with every word you said.

Also, this book was really hard to get (at least in physical form). I now regard this as a good thing, because the knowledge gives an extreme edge going into the future.
 

guitarguru12

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I agree with every word you said.

Also, this book was really hard to get (at least in physical form). I now regard this as a good thing, because the knowledge gives an extreme edge going into the future.

I respect you for getting through the physical book - it's an absolute tome.

I smashed through it on Audible at the gym. I intend to read the physical copy one day when I have time to cement the ideas.

I would highly recommend The Bitcoin Standard as a companion piece and follow up. It feels like it picks up where Sovereign leaves off in many ways
 
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alexkuzmov

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I'm halfway through this book and it amazes me so much. I think it is in my top 5 of the ~100 books I have read the past years.

"Mastering the transition to the Information Age" is a must, and people who are not will be left behind and it won't be pretty.
What is it about? Can you write a breif summary?
 

Speculatooor

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What is it about? Can you write a breif summary?

It is about the changes that microprocessors (and the internet) evoke on the systems that our society is based on.

It reflects on past periods in history where technological revolutions took place, how it shook the way we dealt with violence (by use of government), and how those transitioning periods into new eras looked like. An example would be when the church was government and the printing press radically altered the systems that society was based on.

It extrapolates those past disruptions and the effects on us as how we live as humans into the future to predict how the new era will look like. It was written around 1996-1997 and predicted e-commerce, crypto/blockchain and a rise in nationalism (brexit/trump).

The book predicts that because of the emerging cybereconomy, nation-states will have trouble taxing their citizens and devaluing currency to sustain their bloated expenses as a welfare state. This will ultimately lead to the fall of the nation-state as we know of. After a transition crisis a new era will emerge called the information age, where sovereign individuals will be the norm.

This is a very concise summary, because the book has a lot of depth.
 
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It is about the changes that microprocessors (and the internet) evoke on the systems that our society is based on.

It reflects on past periods in history where technological revolutions took place, how it shook the way we dealt with violence (by use of government), and how those transitioning periods into new eras looked like. An example would be when the church was government and the printing press radically altered the systems that society was based on.

It extrapolates those past disruptions and the effects on us as how we live as humans into the future to predict how the new era will look like. It was written around 1996-1997 and predicted e-commerce, crypto/blockchain and a rise in nationalism (brexit/trump).

The book predicts that because of the emerging cybereconomy, nation-states will have trouble taxing their citizens and devaluing currency to sustain their bloated expenses as a welfare state. This will ultimately lead to the fall of the nation-state as we know of. After a transition crisis a new era will emerge called the information age, where sovereign individuals will be the norm.

This is a very concise summary, because the book has a lot of depth.
Weirdly premonitory.

I'll add it to the list, thanks!
 
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ElleMg

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I was looking for a new book on Audible, thanks!
 
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Steeltip

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I just finished it on audiobook.

I hate to use a term that's thrown around all too often these days, but it's an actual game-changer. It's radically altered the way I look at the world.

I'm currently recommending it to just about everyone I know who I think can handle it.

Insane to think it was written in '96. Prescient as hell
I just started it because of this thread. I am only 20 min in and I can't believe the accuracy simply un-believable.
 

CruxisKnight

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It is about the changes that microprocessors (and the internet) evoke on the systems that our society is based on.

It reflects on past periods in history where technological revolutions took place, how it shook the way we dealt with violence (by use of government), and how those transitioning periods into new eras looked like. An example would be when the church was government and the printing press radically altered the systems that society was based on.

It extrapolates those past disruptions and the effects on us as how we live as humans into the future to predict how the new era will look like. It was written around 1996-1997 and predicted e-commerce, crypto/blockchain and a rise in nationalism (brexit/trump).

The book predicts that because of the emerging cybereconomy, nation-states will have trouble taxing their citizens and devaluing currency to sustain their bloated expenses as a welfare state. This will ultimately lead to the fall of the nation-state as we know of. After a transition crisis a new era will emerge called the information age, where sovereign individuals will be the norm.

This is a very concise summary, because the book has a lot of depth.
Very interesting because we are already seeing this with corporations. Before, the big corporation would be needed because it was hard for a single individual to get the resources to be profitable as a solo operator. Now there are solo operators everywhere due to knowledge and technology. So corporations are being more and more solo individuals. I can see this in a state level.
 

edgonic

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I'm halfway through this book and it amazes me so much. I think it is in my top 5 of the ~100 books I have read the past years.

"Mastering the transition to the Information Age" is a must, and people who are not will be left behind and it won't be pretty.
I love the book - I read it a long time ago (actually twice), and I think it and "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" really ruined employment as a path for me (although it took a long time to finally do something about it). I think what is really interesting about The Sovereign Individual is how they put everything into historical context and really looked at the big picture instead of fixating on a specific technology. It is also really interesting to see a lot of the macro changes they discussed occurring in real time like the growth in citizenships by investment and special visa programs, the growth in small firms being able to realize amazing values, and the backlash from all sides of the political spectrum through growths in populism, progressivism, and nationalism.

What I found really inspiring about it is how it made me feel fortunate to live in a time when changes are occurring in a compressed timeframe. We are going to be able to witness a lot of changes (and the accompanying opportunities) in our lifetime especially when compared to people in previous times.

As an aside, I kind of found Browne's "How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World" to be a more personal and practical way to organizing your life around being able to flourish in such a world.

Another aside - The Tropical MBA (TMBA) podcast recently did an episode on The Sovereign Individual if anyone is interested.
 
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