Rating: 
Summary: Its a repulsive book. Written by paranoid elitists.
Review: Executive summary: This books disqualifies itself because of the great number of lies and distortions contained in it. The author is highly revisionist (tries to re-write history by misrepresentation). His language portraits him as a misanthropic technocrat who would have made an excellent concentration-camp manager. If you want to read a really interesting book, try John Ralston Saul: "Voltaire's Bastards". The writer is a social darwinist, an un-democratic elitist. His outlook for the future society is (like almost everything in this book) a hotch-potch of concepts ... one can't avoid the feeling that he needs to justify elitism very badly indeed... After condemning "mass democracy" he describes his prototype society: "Happily, however, dictatorship in not the sole alternative to mass democracy. ... " Aha! Dictatorship! ... who said dictatorship? "Somewhere, in some jurisdiction, sometime before the crack of doom, someone will realise the potential that computer technology offers to make possible truly representative government." This sounds like a good idea, but he continues: "Rather than being elected, representatives could be selected by sortition ..." What he conveniently forgets is the possibilities that information technology offers for a truely anarchist system, where the individual can inform him/herself and partake in the decision-making in the most direct way.
Instead, he is convinced that there should be a large mass of poor, uneducated and disenfranchised people and a small elite, the Sovereign Individuals, who "will probably be able to travel on nongovernmental documents, issued like letters of credit by private agencies and affinity groups. It is not farfetched to suppose that a group will emerge as a kind of merchant republic of cyberspace, organised like the medieval Hanseatic League, to facilitate negotiation of private treaties and contracts among jurisdictions as well as to provide protection for its members. Imagine a special passport issued by the League of Sovereign Individuals, identifying the holder as a person und the protections of the league.
Such a document, if it comes into existence, will be only a temporary artifact of the transition away from the nation-state and the bureaucratic age it fostered. .... Ultimately, persons of substance will be able to travel without documents at all. They will be able to identify themselves on a foolproof biometric basis through voice-recognition systems or retinal scanning that recognises them uniquely. In short, we expect that sometime in the first half of the next century the world will experience the genuine privatisation of sovereignty." Needless to say, that the author is such a "person of substance" and would belong to the "League of Sovereign Individuals".
It makes you wonder what this guy dreams at night. "We argue in this book that it will no longer take a nation-state to fight an Information War. Such wars could be undertaken by computer programmers deploying large number of "bots" or digital servants. Bill Gates already possesses a greater capacity to detonate logic bombs in vulnerable systems globally than most of the world's nation states. In the age of the Information War, any software company, or even the Church of Scientology, would be a more formidable antagonist than the accumulated threat posed by the majority of the states with seats in the United Nations." blah blah blah .. paranoic claptrap ... It is quite obvious that he only passingly understands the implications of the information age on business in the future and he has no idea about its positive impact on human rights. He just views technology in terms of power over people, not power by the people. His war is unfeasable. There are so many well connected system-operators who have a choice of software ... and an extremely watchful eye and most efficient early warning systems for logical bombs. Would any software company ever attempt to "fight this war" they would be anihilated soon. As information becomes cheaper and cheaper, it becomes accessible by many more people and on the long run most will want to use it for a better society. But this thought doesn't even appear in the book once. Instead we rread sentences like this: "Equally, we doubt that the rational consumer of sovereignty services in the Information Age will care whether Singapore is a mass democrazy or a proprietorship of Lee Kwan Yew." The author must have recognised that he is writing from dreamy-fairy land ....: "As artificial reality and computer game technologies continue to improve, you'll even be able to order a nightly news report that simulates the news you would like to hear. Want to watch a report showing yourself as the winner of the decathlon at the Olympics? No Problem. It could be tomorrow's lead story. You'll see any story you wish, true or false, unfold on your television/computer with greater versimilitude than anything that NBC or the BBC can now muster." Or this: "By eliminating the beneficial impact of competition in challenging underachievers to conform to productive norms, the welfare state has helped to create legions of dysfunctional, paranoid, and poorly acculturated people, the social equivalent of a powder keg." Note how the word "educated" is replaced with "acculturated". The author doesn't want humankind to advance, he wants to return to the feudal ages. He loathes government and taxes, and displays a pathological need for justifying a class system. His panic about the poor as a last resort going to the rich people's throats, or using (sexually biased) extortion creates some comical sentences: "While the reality of discrimination is bound to be less oppressive in the future, that will not necessarily relieve the pressure for "reparations" to compensate various real or imagined wrongs. Every society, whatever its objective circumstances, gives rise to one or more rationalisations for income redistribution. They range from the subtle to the absurd, from the biblical injunction to love your neighbor as yourself, to the invocations of black magic. Sorcery, witchcraft, and the evil eye are the flip side of religious feeling, the spiritual equivalent of the Inland Revenue or the IRS. When people cannot be moved by love to subsidize the poor, the poor themselves will try to see that they are moved by fear. Sometimes this takes the form of an outright shakedown, a knife to the throat, a gun to the head. At other times, the threat is disguised or fanciful. It is no coincidence that most of the "witches" of the early modern period were widows or unmarried women with few resources. They terroised their neighbors with curses that not infrequently moved those neighbors to pay up. It is by no means obvious that those who did so were only the supersticious. The malevolent intent of the evil eye was not a superstition but a fact. Even a poor woman could loose cattle or set someone's house ablaze. In that sense, the witchcraft trials of the erly modern period were not altogether so preposterous as they seem. While the punishments were cruel and no doubt many innocents suffered from the hallucinations of neighbors under the influence of ergot poisoning, the prosecution of witches can be understood as an indirect way of prosecuting extortion." What he forgets is that the inquisition targeted not so much the poor witches, but the people who could pay into the church coffers, and indeed pay for the expenses of their torturers.
He says that with the growing number of have-nots ... &quo
Rating: 
Summary: Political compulsion loses to individual liberty...naturally
Review: A poigniant description of our devolving political system of compulsion which purportedly benefits society through forced income redistribution, but actually benefits the the power brokers within the system. Exposes the convoluted logic of punishing productivity (via taxes)and rewarding non-productivity (via corporate and social welfare). This is a must read for libertarian free market thinkers. Also makes interesting comparisons between a pure democracy and communism in that a pure democracy can easily become a despotism via mob rule or the election of a charismatic and popular demogogue who can work the system to benefit his cronies. This book also portends biblical events in Revelation in that the coming collapse of the corrupt political systems will bring a short period of anarchy prior to the maturation of the information age where individuals will enjoy freedom in a less compulsory political system. Could this be the 1,000 years of Christ's benevolent rule on earth? The millenium will surely bring about many of the changes described in this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Innovative insights but questionable timeframe
Review: Davidson and Rees-Moog have once again done a brilliant job of providing insight into the societal implications of emerging technologies. Their predictions that people with mobile wealth will be mobile with their wealth, and their mobility will be aimed at tax avoidance as well as escaping high costs and any troublemakers back home have a ring of inevitability to them. In fact people with mobile wealth have been doing this for quite awhile. That the Internet will provide opportunities for 'extra-jurisdictional' businesses (where is the Internet, anyway?) will certainly add to this trend of mobile wealth.
The death of the nation/state, however, is a longer-term trend. Certainly their analyses of the nation/state as a decaying and rotting institution ring true, given the politics we see here in the USA. Nations may lose many productive citizens, but to say that the governments will dissolve takes an act of faith, and some extrapolation. It appears certain that the USA governmental guarantees will be harder and harder to meet, and that tax revenues may be harder and harder to collect. Nevertheless, after centuries of indoctrination into the duties of nationhood, many people cherish their belongingness, and are willing to 1) pay their "fair share" of taxes (whatever that is), and 2) to fight and defend their country. Perhaps that was the goal of all the indoctrination of schools, patriotism, etc. but belongingness is important to people, and identifying with a strong powerful group to which they have familial and emotional ties will take awhile to break down, even if that group is insolvent. Certainly new ties will develop, but culture changes slower than technology.
Many of the forecasted changes to business structures have already ocurred, with large corporations laying off many employees, instituting empowerment programs, encouraging entrepreneurial activities, etc. This will certainly accelerate, as predicted, as will the growth of new small firms, and collaborative short-term project alliances between entities.
This is an excellent book that uses insightful thinking to analyse trends. One would be well advised to consider its advice. It is not a complete treatise on this subject, however, as there are numerous areas left somewhat vague. It does not seriously address the concerns of security, when provided commercially. (Will your bodyguard steal from you, kill you, or otherwise not represent your interests???)
It also does not seriously address the formation of new communities, which it predicts will form as nation/states disintegrate. What bonds will there be between people? Will Sovereign Individuals "war" with one another??? Davidson's and Rees-Moog's last book, The Great Reckoning, spend quite a bit of energy around this disintegration question, but predicted a great depression, which so far (as of 11/97) has not arrived.
If Bill Gates were a Sovereign Individual, would he even respond to the Department of Justice ??? Would individuals have any recourse against a seller in the event of a product quality dispute? Will there be any resistance (armed or commercial) against monopolies (which I assume most wealthy businesses run by Sovereign Individuals will seek to become)???
There are many details that will have to play out in history.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books of our time
Review: This is an outstanding book -- Atlas Shrugged with footnotes. Its main insights and predictions will be confirmed within the next 10 years. I found one questionable assumption: the authors assume a widening gulf between the fortunes of a small, skilled economic elite and those of the general population. Such pessimism might be justified if public schools and traditional forms of market governance continue. But I doubt they will, for two reasons. Lew Perelman (School's Out) and others are right that information technology-driven learning alternatives will plunge in costs. This trend will enable tens of millions of individuals who would otherwise have few prospects to gain skills that current systems fail to impart. Second, the institutions governing markets will change. Frictionless and secure online markets will tend to close present global disparities in wealth, by creating level fields for production and exchange for the first time. Individuals who are presently disfavored by birth or location will have opportunities to work and consume in transparent markets, as computer and telecoms costs plunge. This will generate wealth for those who have been impoverished to date by predatory rulers and policies.
Rating:
Summary: Bermuda in the Sky with Diamonds
Review:
Ask a random group of economists what the largest economy will be in the next twenty years and the answer is likely to be China. This is the accepted conventional view. However other economists, who better understand the ultimate irreversible economic consequences of newly
developed-Information Age-technologies, have a convincing argument to the contrary.
In what is probably the most important book of 1997, "The Sovereign Individual," the authors
reveal that an entirely new realm of economic activity has been created in cyberspace. One which is a jurisdictionless arena of commerce that cannot be held hostage to violence or coercion by predatory national governments or even lesser criminals. [Reading the book will remove all doubt regarding this seemingly unlikely assertion.]
They project that cyberspace - a realm without physical existence - will develop into what promises to be the world's largest economy.
In describing the future of the cybereconomy, the authors declare, "Not only will transactions occur over the Net, but they will migrate outside the jurisdiction of nation-states. Payment will
be rendered in cybercurrency. Profits will be booked in cyberbanks. Investments will be made
in cyberbrokerages." The vast majority of these transactions will not be subject to any form of
taxation. Bermuda in the sky with diamonds.
If you need proof of the viability of the concepts presented in "The Sovereign Individual," you can witness the predicted reality now. Direct your browser to:
http://www.LFCity.com
Rating:
Summary: A power book on the impact of the information age
Review: According to Jupiter Communications, a research firm that specializes in emerging technologies, in the year 2000 online transactions will total about $7.3 billion, and
new payment methods such as electronic money will be used for almost half of that amount. This is but one of the many implications of the information age that these conservative thinkers explain are driving a "megapolitical" level of societal transformation as similar in scope and significance to the end of the Roman empire and the 15th Century gunpowder revolution. These serious thinkers soar with this uniquely insightful, penetrating analysis of the vast impact of the information revolution on virtually every aspect of today's society. Following their equally visionary approach in Blood in the Streets (New York: Simon & Schuster. 1987) and The Great Reckoning (New York: Simon & Schuster. 1993), this sweeping analysis of the critical impact of the information age on every aspect of life, especially the financial implications, will surely stir debate as well as alarm. This is a serious work that explains how these major changes will fundamentally change our lives, from the creation of virtual corporations, a breakdown in governments, cybercash-based economies, to tax-haven countries for the very rich. Their advice for offshore investments in the future makes sense under this analysis, and will attract attention on Wall Street. According to this nonpareil work, future generations will look back to 1989-1991, the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the former Soviet Union, as marking the end of what we now refer to as the "Modern age" and the birth of the new democracy of choice in the cybereconomy. The key result of this information revolution will be the birth of the sovereign individual, and the death of mass democracy and the welfare state. This is a major work not to be missed. Dale Farris, Groves, Texas
Rating:
Summary: Bermuda in the Sky with Diamonds
Review: Ask a random group of economists what the largest economy will be in the next twenty years and the answer is likely to be China. This is the accepted conventional view. However other economists, who better understand the ultimate irreversible economic consequences of newlydeveloped-Information Age-technologies, have a convincing argument to the contrary. In what is probably the most important book of 1997, "The Sovereign Individual," the authors reveal that an entirely new realm of economic activity has been created in cyberspace. One which is a jurisdictionless arena of commerce that cannot be held hostage to violence or coercion by predatory national governments or even lesser criminals. [Reading the book will remove all doubt regarding this seemingly unlikely assertion.] They project that cyberspace - a realm without physical existence - will develop into what promises to be the world's largest economy. In describing the future of the cybereconomy, the authors declare, "Not only will transactions occur over the Net, but they will migrate outside the jurisdiction of nation-states. Payment will be rendered in cybercurrency. Profits will be booked in cyberbanks. Investments will be made in cyberbrokerages." The vast majority of these transactions will not be subject to any form of taxation. Bermuda in the sky with diamonds. If you need proof of the viability of the concepts presented in "The Sovereign Individual," you can witness the predicted reality now. Direct your browser to: http://www.LFCity.com
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking
Review: This book discusses the relationship between individuals and nation-states and predicts that "sovereign individuals" and others will choose alternative forms of protection as nation-states devolve and are replaced by new forms of organization.
According to the authors, the 4 stages of "social organization" (hunting and gathering societies, agricultural societies, industrial societies, and now information societies), and the transitions to each successive form of organization resulted from changes in the technology and control of violence. It is the author's contention that the technology of the information society will collapse the nation-state and that a new form of political organization more compatible with the information society will evolve to take its place.
During the transitions to agricultural and industrial societies, economic activities were organized around individuals or informal groups of individuals. With the advent of the industrial society and the mass production economy, economic activites are primarily organized around corporations. While it would probably be more efficient for individuals to be able to choose from a number of jurisdictions to provide the services of the former nation-states, it is not clear that corporations will benefit from the disappearance of the nation-state. Unless that were to occur, there will be no drive to supplant the nation-state unless corporate power is supplanted by individual power.
Toward the end of the book, the authors make a few succinct statements to the effect that independent contractors and virtual corporations will replace the corporation as it exists today. Unless that happens, it seems more likely that the nation-state will evolve and change rather than disappear. The basic necessities of life still revolve around "hard goods" such as food and water, energy, housing, and transportation and, while there will be increasing informational components to providing these necessities, it is unlikely that corporations or governments will be replaced as the primary providers of these necessities or that individuals or virtual corporations will be able to provide anything other than adjunct contributions.
This book is worth studying and will help put current events in context regardless of the outcome.
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