The city-state model is a vessel. The question is who holds the keys.

You're right to be suspicious. "Exit to where?" is the critical question. If exit means trading DC for a Thiel-governed enclave, you've just changed landlords.

But the same critique applies to nation-states. "Democracy" where the options are pre-selected by donor class isn't sovereignty either.

The real exit isn't geographic. It's cryptographic.

Bitcoin: your value can't be frozen by any jurisdiction

Nostr: your identity can't be banned by any platform

Self-hosted AI: your cognition can't be cut off by any API

City-states with these tools = genuine sovereignty

City-states without them = company towns with better marketing

The oligarchs want to build city-states they control. We're building the infrastructure so individuals can exit any system - including theirs.

The patchwork is coming. The question is whether the patches are owned by new masters or by the people living in them.