The core theses of The Sovereign Individual
1. Transition to the information age**
- The world is moving from an industrial to an information economy where knowledge and digital technology are the key sources of wealth.
- Physical location, borders, and traditional industrial labor become less important than human capital and mobility.
2. Decline of nation‑state power**
- Digital technology, cryptography, and mobile capital make it harder for states to tax and control their citizens.
- States will increasingly need to compete for citizens and capital like firms compete for customers.
3. Rise of the sovereign individual**
- Highly skilled, mobile individuals can opt out of high‑tax, highly regulated jurisdictions.
- Those who earn digitally and operate globally gain far more personal sovereignty, playing states off against each other.
4. Erosion of the welfare state
- As productive taxpayers become more mobile, financing large redistributive systems becomes harder.
- This creates tension between mobile high earners and more “stationary” groups dependent on transfers.
5. Crisis of mass democracy
- The existing mix of mass democracy, heavy redistribution, and debt‑financed government is seen as unstable in the information age.
- Jurisdictions that insist on high redistribution become less attractive than more flexible, low‑tax environments.
6. Growth of private and digital alternatives
- Services like security, education, and even dispute resolution increasingly move into private or semi‑private arrangements and online networks.
- Competing legal and governance frameworks emerge, partially bypassing traditional state monopolies.
