The Sovereign Individual

Mastering the Transition to the Information Age

By: James Dale Davidson, Lord William Rees-Mogg

Narrated by: Michael David Axtell

Now featuring a new preface by Peter Thiel

Two renowned investment advisors and authors of the bestseller The Great Reckoning bring to light both currents of disaster and the potential for prosperity and renewal in the face of radical changes in human history as we move into the next century.

The Sovereign Individual details strategies necessary for adapting financially to the next phase of Western civilization.

Few observers of the late twentieth century have their fingers so presciently on the pulse of the global political and economic realignment ushering in the new millennium as do James Dale Davidson and Lord William Rees-Mogg. Their bold prediction of disaster on Wall Street in Blood in the Streets was borne out by Black Tuesday. In their ensuing bestseller, The Great Reckoning, published just weeks before the coup attempt against Gorbachev, they analyzed the pending collapse of the Soviet Union and foretold the civil war in Yugoslavia and other events that have proved to be among the most searing developments of the past few years.

In The Sovereign Individual, Davidson and Rees-Mogg explore the greatest economic and political transition in centuries—the shift from an industrial to an information-based society. This transition, which they have termed "the fourth stage of human society," will liberate individuals as never before, irrevocably altering the power of government. This outstanding book will replace false hopes and fictions with new understanding and clarified values.

It put the modern age in perspective

if you grew up on the Internet like I have a lot of what is spoken in this book will make a lot of sense.

a lot of great info but questionable conclusions

there was a ton of amazing statistics and facts about the history of society. however a number of the conclusions are a huge stretch from the actual facts.

the idea that workers are extorting their businesses is asinine. if anything businesses exploit workers and the workers have to risk their lives striking just to feed their families.

also, the idea that government, especially big government, will go away has not proven to be true. look at china and the UN and how they control the entire globe.

the points about digital currencies and the metaverse are very accurate though.

Spot on in these COVID Times

An incredible book that accurately describes what we are going through in 2020, even though it was written almost 25 years ago. Chapter 9 literally stopped me in my tracks on my morning walk. A bit dense in parts, but highly recommended for understanding the collapse fo the Social Nation-State, our immigration challenges, restriction of travel between countries, the pandemic, the rise of the super-rich, and the Sovereign Individual who can create wealth anywhere there is an internet connection.

Required reading

One of the essentials :) very well narrated version of this classic essential work. Impressed by their accuracy of foresight

Deep analysis

Such a vidid and thorough analysis of society’s evolution over the centuries gives context to a potential evolution of civilization and implications of that evolution. Highly recommend to anyone who is interested in economics, the use and evolution of power and technology. Among several other topics. That all being said, There are some generalities and conclusions therein that felt haphazard and lazy and somewhat biased. But overall an incredible work and I have yet to read anything comparable. I even purchased the two books precluding this release.