The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World , by Atossa Araxia Abrahamian, Riverhead Books, 336 pages, $30

The idea of carving out territorial exceptions to, or escape zones from, the hand of the nation-state has long captured the imagination of free market enthusiasts. In the 1990s, I was involved in several organizations devoted to the idea, and I witnessed the movement's gradual shift from a pipe dream of libertarian theorists to something attracting serious interest, and investment capital, from entrepreneurs, as libertarian-oriented free ports, special economic zones, charter cities, and even floating maritime cities (sea-steads), began to look more politically possible. In 1993, my "free nation" group was meeting in a local North Carolina hotel; by 2011, I was sipping cocktails at

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