Startup Societies
Startup societies are the most interesting development in the 21st century. They provide governance, legislation and policy as a service. Modern startup societies are modelling innovative nations and cities such as Singapore, Shenzen, and Dubai.
Read:
- The Network State by Balaji Srinivasan
- Temasek and the Singapore Model by Erick Brimen
- Lessons Learned from Israel, the Start-up Nation by Erick Brimen
- The Policies that Made China's SEZs a Success
- From Third World to First by Lee Kuan Yew
- City of Gold: Dubai and the Dream of Capitalism by Jim Krane
- Network School Explained
- Network School Curriculum
Places:
- Prospera (Honduras)
- Network School (Singapore)
- Praxis (Digital, crowdfunding for California)
- Alpha City
- Shenzen, Singapore, ZEDEs, Hong Kong. Economic zones can encourage free market capitalism even if situated in a socialist country.
- Esmeralda, CA
- Gelephu Mindfulness City, Bhutan
People:
- Balaji Srinivasan
- Lee Kuan Yew
- Paul Romer
Dictionary:
- Network State: Organize online and then crowdfund territory.
- Society as a Service: Compete to provide the best services for citizens.
- Governance as Product: Citizens choose jurisdictions like consumers choose apps.
- Capital Migration: Rich people will leave heavily regulated nations and go to places they can flourish. (Ex. In 2025, the UK saw the largest capital emigration in history, many leaving to less regulated zones such as Singapore and Dubai.)
- Regulatory Drift: Nations add regulations faster than they remove regulations. Old nations get bogged down in regulations.
- Primary sector (A) - real economy: Extraction of raw materials
- Secondary sector (B) - industrial economy: Manufacturing and processing goods
- Tertiary sector (C) - service economy: Finance, education, tourism, etc.
- Information Economy: Knowledge workers, white collared jobs.
- Web3: Decentralized internet.
- DePIN: Decentralized physical infrastructure.
- ZEDE: Zone for Employment and Economic Development
- SEZ: Special Economic Zone
- SAR: Special Administrative Region
Notes:
- People vote with their feet.
- Builders optimize for freedom. (Business moves to less regulated zones)
- Innovation requires freedom. (Did the Wright Brothers need FAA approval to make a plane? No.)
- Some nations are so entrenched in regulation, that they cannot rebuild their own infrastructure!
Caveats:
- Do citizens share ideology?
- Do inhabitants build a genuine “love of home” with a startup nation?
- How does a world of Network States compete against a monolith like China?