BOOK · [157]
The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age
James Dale Davidson, William Rees-Mogg
Politics / Technology
Written in 1997, Davidson and Rees-Mogg predicted that microprocessors and cryptography would erode the nation-state's monopoly on taxation and violence, giving rise to digital sovereigns. Widely treated in a16z crypto circles as a prophetic text — Chris Dixon and Balaji Srinivasan both cite it as intellectual background for why decentralized protocols matter.
Endorsed By
2 People-
a16z
1997 precursor text to crypto's philosophical foundations; widely cited by Crypto Canon contributors as the prophetic background for why decentralized protocols matter.
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Naval Ravikant
“The best book I've read since Sapiens.”
Naval singles it out by name as among his highest endorsements, citing its prescience on cryptography and the decline of the nation-state.