5: The Death of Nation-States and Radical Self-Ownership: The Sovereign Individual
09/26/17 • 121 min
“When money can be earned anywhere, you won’t obligated to live in or subjugate yourself to high taxation.”
In this episode of Made You Think, we discussed “The Sovereign Individual,” a book published in 1996 predicting how the Internet would change our lives and work over the following decades. Some of it’s come true, some of it is yet to come, but no book has made either of us think so much about how technology might destroy what we think of as citizenship, work, travel, community, and life.
We talked about:
- The increasing popularity of self-education over college
- How to prepare yourself for the future cyber-economy
- The future of job automation and subsequent unemployment
- The decreasing demand for people with degrees and job experience
- The four stages of cultural and societal advancement
- The future of cryptocurrency and online wealth
- The necessity for finding meaning in your life and work
And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Sovereign Individual and to check out Nat’s notes on the book!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our episode on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and our episode on The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell on using the power of mythology to positively influence our lives.
Mentioned in the show:
- 14,000-Year-Old British Columbian Village [5:54]
- Stonehenge [6:15]
- Internet lines being cut article [18:53]
- Bitcoin [19:14] (Nat’s article on Bitcoin)
- Upwork [29:01]
- MomTrusted [30:36]
- Loose Threads Death of the Supply Driven World [34:07] (Podcast)
- WellnessFX [35:21]
- Inflammation and Depression link [40:02]
- Nat Chat Podcast [50:27]
- Fake News article [52:49]
- Swift [56:40]
- Cryptocurrency and Blockchain [56:47] (Nat’s article on learning about cryptocurrency)
- Ron Paul - What if the government didn’t fund healthcare [1:02:57]
- NomadList [1:10:07]
- Wealthfront [1:21:20]
- Zapier [1:26:15]
- How to Legally Own Somebody [1:29:14]
- Medium [1:30:53]
- Estee Lauder [1:34:04]
- Indochino [1:38:57]
- Adidas [1:40:28]
- Under Armour [1:40:28]
- Estonia U-Visa [1:41:35]
- Game of Thrones [1:52:06]
- Community [1:52:07]
- Lost [1:52:08]
Books mentioned:
“When money can be earned anywhere, you won’t obligated to live in or subjugate yourself to high taxation.”
In this episode of Made You Think, we discussed “The Sovereign Individual,” a book published in 1996 predicting how the Internet would change our lives and work over the following decades. Some of it’s come true, some of it is yet to come, but no book has made either of us think so much about how technology might destroy what we think of as citizenship, work, travel, community, and life.
We talked about:
- The increasing popularity of self-education over college
- How to prepare yourself for the future cyber-economy
- The future of job automation and subsequent unemployment
- The decreasing demand for people with degrees and job experience
- The four stages of cultural and societal advancement
- The future of cryptocurrency and online wealth
- The necessity for finding meaning in your life and work
And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Sovereign Individual and to check out Nat’s notes on the book!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our episode on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and our episode on The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell on using the power of mythology to positively influence our lives.
Mentioned in the show:
- 14,000-Year-Old British Columbian Village [5:54]
- Stonehenge [6:15]
- Internet lines being cut article [18:53]
- Bitcoin [19:14] (Nat’s article on Bitcoin)
- Upwork [29:01]
- MomTrusted [30:36]
- Loose Threads Death of the Supply Driven World [34:07] (Podcast)
- WellnessFX [35:21]
- Inflammation and Depression link [40:02]
- Nat Chat Podcast [50:27]
- Fake News article [52:49]
- Swift [56:40]
- Cryptocurrency and Blockchain [56:47] (Nat’s article on learning about cryptocurrency)
- Ron Paul - What if the government didn’t fund healthcare [1:02:57]
- NomadList [1:10:07]
- Wealthfront [1:21:20]
- Zapier [1:26:15]
- How to Legally Own Somebody [1:29:14]
- Medium [1:30:53]
- Estee Lauder [1:34:04]
- Indochino [1:38:57]
- Adidas [1:40:28]
- Under Armour [1:40:28]
- Estonia U-Visa [1:41:35]
- Game of Thrones [1:52:06]
- Community [1:52:07]
- Lost [1:52:08]
Books mentioned:
Previous Episode
4: Finding Your Bliss through Ancient Mythology: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell
“Picking a path, even if it’s not the right path, will get you closer to finding the path that will work for you.”
“The Power of Myth” is a series of interviews conducted over two years between Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers, originally meant for television, but eventually repackaged into this book covering Campbell’s lifetime of research on the power of mythology to influence our lives and thinking.
It made both of us seriously think about the value of mythology, stories, religion, and how historic lessons can be carried across time. If you’re someone who normally prefers actionable information, and reading non-fiction, The Power of Myth makes a strong case for how timeless stories can teach us more than a bulleted list ever can.
We cover a lot in the episode, including:
- How mythology can influence your work and pursuing your passions
- Using mythology and theology as a guide for your life
- Finding your path to bliss and maintaining that bliss
- Promoting growth by welcoming your challenges and enemies
- Balancing the necessary sacrifices in everything that you do
- Gaining inspiration from ancient mythology and theology
And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of The Power of Myth!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to also listen to our launch episodes on Mastery by Robert Greene to learn how to become a master at your craft, and Letters from a Stoic by Seneca to learn ancient wisdom for a better life.
Mentioned in the show:
- Skywalker Ranch [1:02]
- Sarah Lawrence College [1:31]
- Jordan Peterson’s Podcast (biblical series) [3:35]
- Maasai Tribe People [9:48]
- Tim Ferriss Podcast (dating heuristic episode) [14:57]
- Masculine/Feminine Personality Traits [15:43] (Three related articles: first, second, and third)
- Jocko Podcast [17:46]
- The Optionality Trap [28:29]
- Bonobos [29:41]
- Andy Dunn’s VC blog post [29:45]
- Zappos [35:05]
- Twilight Zone (episode mentioned) [35:38]
- Made You Think Mastery podcast episode [38:35]
- Nat Chat Podcast [39:48]
- DiscMan [41:14]
- Nat and Neil’s Nat Chat episode [43:46]
- Bitcoin [50:02]
- Nike [52:55]
- Adidas [52:56]
- Wall-E [57:19]
- Dota 2 [58:26]
- World of Warcraft [58:31]
- Starcraft [58:32]
- Hardcore History Podcast [1:06:10]
- Biblical Series Podcast on Cain and Abel [1:14:33]
- Made You Think Letter’s From a Stoic podcast episode [1:20:55]
- Made You Think Antifragile podcast episode [1:20:56]
Books mentioned:
Next Episode
6: Stop Working so Much: In Praise of Idleness by Bertrand Russell
“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts.”
In this episode of Made You Think, we read through “In Praise of Idleness” by Bertrand Russell and discussed some of its main ideas. This episode was fun since we were able to read the whole essay throughout the show, stopping and starting as topics caught our interest. Whether you’ve read Russell before, or this is your first introduction to him, this essay is full of ideas that will make you think about whether you need to spend more time goofing off and relaxing.
We covered a wide range of topics, including:
- Reducing the guilty feeling of wanting to work all day
- Balancing work, leisure, and spending
- Cultivating creativity by increasing leisure time
- Spending your leisure time more wisely
- Increasing your productivity
- Reading books to for pleasure, instead of just knowledge
- Issues with overworking in today’s society
And much more. Please enjoy, and be sure to grab a copy of In Praise of Idleness and to check out Nat’s notes on the book!
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to listen to our episode on The Sovereign Individual, to better prepare yourself for the cyber-economic future, and to listen to our episode on Antifragile, to learn how to turn chaos to your advantage!
Mentioned in the show:
- YMCA [0:54]
- Principia Mathematica [1:55]
- Antifragile Made You Think episode [10:30]
- Mastery Made You Think episode [10:30]
- The Sovereign Individual Made You Think episode [11:22]
- Parkinson’s Law [27:19]
- Taylor Pearson’s time management article [27:44]
- Patagonia [31:08]
- It’s Okay to “Forget” What You Read [1:00:34]
- Y Combinator [1:03:12]
- Y Combinator universal income experiment [1:03:12]
- Stoicism [1:14:08]
- France’s lower hour work week [1:19:35]
- Neil’s Newsletter [1:23:20] (Nat’s Newsletter)
Books mentioned:
- In Praise of Idleness [0:00] (Nat’s Notes)
- Antifragile [10:30] (Nat’s Notes)
- Mastery [10:30] (Nat’s Notes)
- The Sovereign Individual [11:22] (Nat’s Notes)
- Sapiens [18:01] (Nat’s Notes)
- Let My People Go Surfing [31:08]
- The 4-Hour Workweek [38:04] (Nat’s Notes)
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