Last month, venture capitalist Balaji Srinivasan announced Network School, a three-month educational retreat aimed at those interested in “network nations,” a kind of utopia for an anarcho-capitalist group. The first class has 150 people. It starts today.
Details about the school are shrouded in secrecy, even for candidates. Aspiring Network School participants pay deposits of up to $2,000 without even knowing the location of Network School. Srinivasan has yet to publicly reveal it, though social media posts and a report by WIRED indicate it’s in Forest City, Malaysia.
Network School is one of the most ambitious projects for those interested in creating what Srinivasan calls a “decentralized nation.” The goal is for people dissatisfied with their own societies to come together and form a movement that creates “parallel” societies, special economic zones with alternative education systems, media institutions and currencies — and wealth-friendly tax laws. A key step is owning a physical territory, and Network School is exceeding that bar. On Sunday, Srinivasan said he is working on “real estate development” to “scale the school.”
While Srinivasan has yet to publicly reveal the location of Network School, he has been more explicit about its values, which he says students should align themselves with. According to his Post about the sub-stack introducing Network School, these requirements include admiration for “Western values,” viewing Bitcoin as the successor to the US Federal Reserve, and trusting artificial intelligence over human courts and judges.
“This is for those who believe in technology, harmony, internationalism, and capitalism,” Srinivasan wrote on Substack. “This is for those who want Silicon Valley without San Francisco.”
Srinivasan added that the school is open to artists, athletes and technologists from any country.
On X and Reddit, several people said they were accepted to Network School and had to pay their first month of rent up front within two business days of being accepted or risk losing their place. The lack of time and not knowing exactly where they would be living caused stress for some people.
One tech worker who was accepted into Network School told WIRED that he loved the idea of the school, but sending money without providing key details was a bit of a stretch.
“I talked to a few friends about it and they said, ‘Wow, that sounds suspicious’ — and I said, ‘Yeah, you’re right,’” said the applicant, who asked not to be identified, citing privacy concerns.
Regarding daily life at the Network School, Srinivasan says in his article: Post about the sub-stack that students will complete daily tasks in mini-classes. These will involve a combination of coding and social media posting, and earning a “proof of learning” NFT upon completion. Srinivasan says students can also compete for daily $1,000 “crypto rewards” “for open source projects, AI content creation, and microtasks.”