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The Sovereign Individual Summary
As the world transitions from industrial economies to the information age, individuals gain unprecedented autonomy and power, while traditional nation-states lose their grip on control. In this new paradigm, those who master digital technologies will benefit from mobility, borderless work, and decentralized systems, weakening the power of governments to tax and regulate. This shift empowers individuals to align with regions or systems offering the most favorable terms, reshaping personal freedom and economic opportunity.
The Sovereign Individual Notes
These are my notes from The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg. Each one contains a core idea from the book that stood out. The goal of writing my notes this way is that each could be it's own independent idea with the need for the specific context within the book.
The 4 Traits That Determine How Far You Go
Otto Ammon was a German economist who became the first to apply probability theory to major social questions. He studied human ability and relied on the work of Francis Galton to come up with 4 traits that decided the “place which a man will occupy in life.” They are:
- Intellectual traits: This is the rational side of man-power. Quick comprehension, memory, judgment, and the power of invention.
- Moral traits: Self-control, will power, industry, perseverance, moderation, regard for family, (character) honesty.
- Economic traits: Business ability, organizational talent, technical skills, caution, clever calculation, foresight, thrift.
- Bodily traits: Power to work, endurance, power of undergoing exertions and resisting excitements of every kind, vigour, good health.
Incompetent Competition
A study called "Adult Literacy in America" was conducted in the 1990s. They discovered that finding a literate audience for a political argument was difficult. Majority of Americans over 15 lack basic skills to evaluate ideas and form judgments. According to the U.S. Education Department, 90 million Americans cannot write a letter, navigate a bus schedule, or do basic addition or subtraction. That's 27% of the population. 30 million, or 9%, were judged to be so incompetent they couldn't even respond to the questions.
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