Transcript
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it's mind bending still to me that
it's just this, " just", this monetary
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innovation, which is, I never thought
it would be such a philosophical rabbit
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hole in so many different directions.
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And, I don't know, sometimes I catch
myself like the things I'm reading about
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or thinking about, I'm like, how did this
all, how did Bitcoin lead to all this?
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Welcome back to the
Freedom Footprint Show.
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The Bitcoin Philosophy Show with Knut
Svanholm and me, Luke the Pseudo Finn.
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In today's episode, we're joined by
our friend Robert Breedlove, host of
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the What Is Money show, home to some
of the best deep dive series into the
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world of money and bitcoin, including
the Saylor series with Michael Saylor.
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Our conversation today is inspired by
many of the books that have defined our
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personal experiences and bitcoin journeys.
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Maps of Meaning by Jordan
Peterson, Human Action by Mises.
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Economic Science and the Austrian Method
by Hoppe, and Lila by Robert Persik.
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We also discuss value and
its connection to praxeology.
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We reflect on communication,
language, and argumentation ethics.
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And finally, we ask Robert for his answer
to the age old question, what is money?
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Curious?
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Keep listening.
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But before we jump in, a quick reminder
that the best way to support the show
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You can earn sats from listening
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And all your other favorite shows.
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You can also support us on geyser or
send sats directly to our lightning
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address freedom at geyser dot fund.
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And if you want to exchange your dirty
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All our links are in the description.
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If you're watching on YouTube,
don't forget to like the episode
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and subscribe to the channel.
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Even if you're listening as a
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It would be a big help.
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And finally, we want to
thank today's sponsors.
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AmberApp, WasabiWallet, OrangePillApp,
TheBitcoinWay, and Geyser.
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All their information
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We'll be talking a bit
more about them later.
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And now, without further ado,
here is Robert Breedlove on
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the Freedom Footprint show.
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Rob, welcome to the
Freedom Footprint show.
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Thanks for joining us.
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Hey guys, thanks for having me.
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Happy to be here.
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Yeah, happy to have you on Rob.
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Um, I've been on your show
three times, I think, so it's
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about time you come to ours.
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Yeah, I think so.
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I'm overdue.
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we met briefly in Riga.
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We were both busy, you a bit
busier than us, as usual.
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And you did a bunch of interviews there.
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I mean, you're a...
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You work like a Terminator and
look like one as well for that.
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I mean, you've been doing a ton of
interviews and I'm really impressed
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by that work ethic of yours.
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Like it's, it's, uh,
it's always on, it seems.
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thank you.
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Well, I mean, you know how the
podcasting thing is like when
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you're doing it, it's very intense.
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There's, especially when you're at
events and everyone's there, you get
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a lot of juice for the squeeze by just
really getting all the speakers or
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whoever's attending the event together
and knocking out a bunch of interviews.
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But then you get to.
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You know, turned down hopefully
for a few days after that.
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So, seems like it's kind of
like sprint and then rest
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type of work, work frequency.
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yeah, it's a good lifestyle.
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yeah,
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um, so who did you interview in
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Yeah, we had Adam back.
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talked a little bit about
the block size wars with him.
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Uh, in addition to some other things
they've been doing over at Blockstream.
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Talked to Dylan LeClair.
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Spoke with, um, I don't want to
mispronounce his name now, the
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last Austrian economist in Austria,
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Taghisadigan.
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Rahim, thank you, had a good lengthy
conversation with him, uh, and
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a few others, so yeah, it was a
good time, and then it looks like,
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this isn't final yet, but it looks
like I'll try to go to Lugano,
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Oh, excellent.
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We're coming to Lugano too.
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yeah, so we'll try to do the same thing
there, get some people together, have
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some interviews, and then also, uh,
I'll be at Jordan Peterson's event
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at the end of October, beginning of
November in London, and so I'll be
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interviewing some of the speakers at
that event there, so that'll be not,
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obviously that's not a Bitcoin event,
um, But definitely a lot of people in
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the, let's say freedom focused universe.
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Um, hopefully having them on for
some in person interviews as well.
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So I'm super excited for all that.
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you gave me the perfect segue, Rob.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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so, so, so, uh, I'll just give
you like a quick little bit of, of
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background, but like basically you
and the you, you were my orange pill.
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Absolutely.
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Oh, nice.
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so.
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You know, first personal thank you for
that, but the way I found you was when
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you went on Lex Friedman, and I'd been
watching kind of all of his crypto and
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bitcoin related people at the time,
but yours was, well, unique, and the
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thing that I latched onto was somewhere
in the middle there you mentioned
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Jordan Peterson, and you called Maps
of Meaning one of your most use cases.
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Meaningful books, like the books you
would recommend the most, I believe it
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was Human Action and Maps of Meaning were
the two you mentioned there, and well,
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basically, I've been a Peterson guy for
a long time now, um, helped me through
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my younger adulthood, Uh, so to say, I'm
still young, but, uh, you know, getting
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there, um, but the, the main thing, I
guess, that I wanted to, to ask or to, to
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talk to you a little bit about was, uh, so
I'm rereading Maps of Meaning again, and,
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and it just kind of, it's all fantastic
stuff, but can, can you tell a little
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bit about what you got out of that book?
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What, uh, Maps of Meaning means to you?
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Thank you.
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Yeah.
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Um, yeah, the, the, the books that I
mentioned on the Lex Fridman podcast
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were Maps of Meaning, Human Action,
and then Robert Persick's book, Lila.
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And I think reading those three
books together is one, a good way
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to dematerialize your worldview in
the sense that you'll move away from
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being a materialist into someone
that understands the world, uh, just
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through a different framework, right?
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A framework of value, a framework
of Praxeology in the case of
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human action, um, and maybe even
a different metaphysical framework
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when you use something like Lila,
that the book that really posits
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that value is the fundamental
ground stuff of reality in a way.
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So I just thought those three books are
very interesting to read together, which
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I just happened to do at that time.
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But maps of meaning specifically,
I think Peterson, I mean, he's
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drawing very heavily on like Carl
Jung and, and others, but he's.
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Basically putting forth, uh, a
worldview that's non materialist, right?
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It has more to do with value, um,
has more to do with, you know, what
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you value actually determines what,
not only how you see the world, but
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what you actually see in the world.
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One of the experiments he often likes
to cite is the selective attention
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experiment, where there's, uh, people
are charged with the task of counting
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the number of basketball passes
between these two teams on a video.
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And When they do that, they fail to see
the six foot man in a gorilla costume
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come into the middle of the screen
and wave his arms around for a few
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seconds and walk off screen because
they're so focused on the task of
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actually counting the number of passes.
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So the point being that when they
value achieving the objective of
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counting the number of passes, that you
actually fail to see six foot gorillas
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walking into the middle of your frame.
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Um...
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And so value, valuation, or the
process of valuation is actually
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determining what you see in the
world, not just how you see the world.
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And, you know, the bookmaps
of meaning, I don't know that
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I'd recommend it to everyone.
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It's very dense.
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I think Peterson said he spent
15 years and three, three hours
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a day for 15 years writing it.
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Something just...
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You know, just an absurd
amount of work went into it.
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The sentences are very dense, but
he, he goes down a lot of the,
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the psychological rabbit holes
that Jungian psychology gets into.
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I really got, one of the most
fascinating parts of that book for me
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was towards the end when he's talking
about alchemy, um, and just the
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nature of what alchemy was said to be.
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You know, it was said to like.
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Be a process that paralleled
the passion of Christ.
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It was the pursuit of the lapis
philosophorum, which was the philosopher's
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stone, which was said to be the
incorruptible substance that would serve
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as an antidote for tyranny in the world.
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and I, you know, there were just so
many parallels with Bitcoin there.
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Also like by interacting with
the philosopher's stone, it
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actually makes you better.
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And so we often talk about Bitcoiners
going down the Bitcoin rabbit hole and
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experiencing personal transformations.
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You know, I don't, maybe I, maybe
I've drank too much of the orange Kool
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Aid, but I definitely saw a lot of
parallels between Peterson's discussion
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of alchemy and the Philosopher's
Stone to, to Bitcoin overall.
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And then, you know, where I think
JBP, I guess, obviously saying maps
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of meaning, you could have also called
the book maps of value in a way.
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And there's.
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A lot of talk about meaning and a lot of
talk about value, but that, it, it sort of
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doesn't get into, it doesn't, he doesn't
have Mises in his worldview, right?
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He doesn't have praxeology, he doesn't
have human action, so it's like, it fails
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to see this deep connection, perhaps
even, you might even say value and
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action are like the same thing, right?
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All human action is an
expression of value.
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Um, I'm not completely convinced
it's just human though, like, I
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think purpose might be something that
exists beyond just the human domain.
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Obviously that's more of
a metaphysical debate.
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but I think that in JVP's work, it
keeps the matter of value rather
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abstract and that he doesn't ground
it out in the practical realities of,
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of actually, of actual human action.
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And I think that's where you get a
lot of value by plugging in, reading
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the book, Human Action and Mises.
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And then, uh, again, with,
with Lila, you get this.
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Sort of metaphysical grounding,
um, in addition to those two
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books that really just sort of
rounds out the counterpoint to the
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materialist worldview, you might say,
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yeah, the density of maps of meaning is,
is, yeah, it's, it's quite something.
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I've appreciated his, his lecture.
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series on that topic, uh, which
kind of distilled that and made
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it a little bit more accessible.
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But when he, when he came out with 12
rules for life, I, I'd actually been
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hoping for like a, like a maps of meaning
light instead, and sort of the rules
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for life series is that, but it's, it's.
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Of course, it's couched in
this framing that's supposed
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to make it ultra accessible.
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And yeah, that's, that's had
maybe mixed success, I would say.
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But yeah, the, I really like your
point, I guess, about the, that
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maps of value could be an alternate.
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And, um, certainly agree that, that
his, his, uh, lack of the praxeological
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point is glaringly obvious when you've
been looking at that, uh, side of
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things, but yeah, um, that was, that
was kind of my, uh, comments there,
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but Knut, any, any thoughts on that?
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Curious.
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When did you last speak to Jordan?
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I mean, we've traded emails about
the event, so, just over the past
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several months, but, spoken to him?
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Actually spoken to him?
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I haven't spoken to him since
we did our thing in Miami.
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Okay.
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So, so do you think he's properly
orange pill at this point?
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You see, we see some hints, uh, back
and forth, but then once in a while, he
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says something sort of counter to the
Bitcoin ethos in terms of the, you know,
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internet anonymity and stuff like that.
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And he doesn't really seem to grasp
the importance of, of privacy, or.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Just have a different, different outlook
than on that topic than most Bitcoiners.
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Um, so, so where do you think he
is in his, um, rabbit hole journey?
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Well, I would definitely say he
is not properly orange pilled yet.
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Um, as we all know, that takes, whatever,
X hundred hours to get to that point.
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00:12:45,865 --> 00:12:50,385
Somewhere between one and a few hundred
hours, I guess, depending on who you
227
00:12:50,385 --> 00:12:52,025
are, what approach you take, et cetera.
228
00:12:52,685 --> 00:12:56,085
Uh, I doubt he's spent
that much time at all.
229
00:12:56,095 --> 00:12:59,375
Like it seems like he paid attention
to Bitcoin in the bull market.
230
00:12:59,775 --> 00:13:03,045
And then when bull market ceased,
he kind of stopped paying attention.
231
00:13:03,875 --> 00:13:05,755
Um, he still tweets things out though.
232
00:13:05,765 --> 00:13:07,105
Like can Bitcoin fix this?
233
00:13:07,395 --> 00:13:10,115
You know, he'll be tweeting out some
234
00:13:10,595 --> 00:13:11,135
Yeah.
235
00:13:11,215 --> 00:13:12,415
That's the last week, right?
236
00:13:12,755 --> 00:13:13,665
Yeah, something,
237
00:13:13,785 --> 00:13:14,295
something.
238
00:13:15,379 --> 00:13:18,089
Oh, Australia moving people
to a cashless society.
239
00:13:18,089 --> 00:13:21,259
I think they were just turning off
physical cash, you know, and he's
240
00:13:21,269 --> 00:13:22,499
saying, Oh, can Bitcoin fix this?
241
00:13:22,539 --> 00:13:25,219
And we're like, Oh, of course,
that's a counterparty, basically
242
00:13:25,219 --> 00:13:26,589
rug pulling you effectively.
243
00:13:27,159 --> 00:13:29,169
And so Bitcoin's money
without a counterparty.
244
00:13:29,179 --> 00:13:30,589
So yeah, Bitcoin does fix that.
245
00:13:31,165 --> 00:13:33,255
no one's going to turn
off Bitcoin on you, right?
246
00:13:33,255 --> 00:13:35,485
Whereas they can basically
turn off physical cash.
247
00:13:36,355 --> 00:13:39,285
So, Uh, his curiosity is there.
248
00:13:39,295 --> 00:13:40,655
Where is he at on his journey?
249
00:13:40,655 --> 00:13:43,935
I'm not entirely sure, but he
will be the first to admit to
250
00:13:43,945 --> 00:13:48,975
you that he doesn't have a strong
understanding of economics in general.
251
00:13:49,622 --> 00:13:53,072
even the way he describes money, you
know, he describes money as trust.
252
00:13:53,972 --> 00:13:56,812
And again, I think this is, you get
very muddy with the language here
253
00:13:56,812 --> 00:14:01,492
because I would lean more on Nick
Szabo's perspective of money being
254
00:14:01,492 --> 00:14:03,852
the trust minimized asset, right?
255
00:14:04,512 --> 00:14:08,952
The thing that I can use in exchange with
the least need to trust anyone, right?
256
00:14:08,952 --> 00:14:10,222
Least counterparty risk.
257
00:14:11,312 --> 00:14:14,692
And so, but again, the trust...
258
00:14:15,192 --> 00:14:16,802
is an ambivalent term, right?
259
00:14:16,802 --> 00:14:21,062
Because it's like, okay, there's a,
there's the least need for interpersonal
260
00:14:21,072 --> 00:14:25,972
trust, but it's the same thing as
saying you have trust in the integrity
261
00:14:25,972 --> 00:14:30,192
or credibility of the monetary
properties associated with the money.
262
00:14:30,592 --> 00:14:35,092
It's like saying, okay, when I walk
across a bridge, am I trusting an
263
00:14:35,092 --> 00:14:39,132
individual to keep or individuals
to keep the bridge intact?
264
00:14:39,172 --> 00:14:43,272
Or am I trusting principles of civil
engineering that were properly applied?
265
00:14:43,932 --> 00:14:47,267
You know, so it's, Interpersonal
versus impersonal trust.
266
00:14:47,267 --> 00:14:51,117
And so when he just says money
is trust, I think it's very much
267
00:14:51,137 --> 00:14:53,367
ambivalent and not that useful.
268
00:14:54,217 --> 00:14:56,977
So there's that.
269
00:14:56,977 --> 00:15:02,537
And then again, you know, I would
love to hear him really try to expand
270
00:15:02,537 --> 00:15:04,427
upon the question, what is value?
271
00:15:05,377 --> 00:15:08,347
Because I don't know
what value is other than.
272
00:15:09,607 --> 00:15:12,787
What is expressed in human action, right?
273
00:15:12,797 --> 00:15:15,847
What else is value other than
what is expressed in human action?
274
00:15:16,577 --> 00:15:21,457
And so for all of his focus on meaning and
value, I don't think, I would like to hear
275
00:15:21,457 --> 00:15:24,307
what grounding definition he has for that.
276
00:15:25,047 --> 00:15:27,867
Because if you really come to
understand that, then, um...
277
00:15:29,477 --> 00:15:33,687
Uh, you know, a lot of the arguments
he's putting forth would just plug
278
00:15:33,687 --> 00:15:37,207
straight into praxeology and then he
would go down the Mises rabbit hole
279
00:15:37,627 --> 00:15:40,917
and then presumably he would get
thoroughly orange pills in the process.
280
00:15:41,587 --> 00:15:42,257
So I
281
00:15:42,282 --> 00:15:43,062
we love to see
282
00:15:43,862 --> 00:15:45,872
Yeah, we would love to see that.
283
00:15:46,132 --> 00:15:48,412
Um, but who knows?
284
00:15:48,432 --> 00:15:50,912
You know, he's also, he's an
older guy, you know, I don't
285
00:15:50,912 --> 00:15:55,302
know how many more rabbit holes
he's, he's got left to go down.
286
00:15:56,277 --> 00:15:59,387
so on that note, what, what
is, what is your answer?
287
00:15:59,527 --> 00:16:01,207
Your personal answer to the question?
288
00:16:01,207 --> 00:16:01,967
What is money?
289
00:16:03,042 --> 00:16:04,722
I wish I had only one for you.
290
00:16:05,132 --> 00:16:09,539
Um, the thing, okay, I'll
say, I'll say this first.
291
00:16:10,039 --> 00:16:17,609
That the most interesting thing for me on
this three, almost three year journey now
292
00:16:17,629 --> 00:16:23,209
doing the podcast, the what is money show,
asking this question to, I don't know how
293
00:16:23,209 --> 00:16:29,769
many we've had 360 something episodes,
probably definitely over a hundred guests.
294
00:16:29,769 --> 00:16:33,319
You know, a lot of the episodes are
long form series, so we have the same
295
00:16:33,319 --> 00:16:37,009
guests over and over, but I'd say we're,
we've got to be over a hundred guests.
296
00:16:38,844 --> 00:16:45,894
And the fact that there are so many
different answers to that question that
297
00:16:46,214 --> 00:16:52,714
make sense in certain contexts, um, it's
like asking one of these other profound
298
00:16:52,714 --> 00:16:54,594
questions, like, you know, what is truth?
299
00:16:54,614 --> 00:16:55,704
What is justice?
300
00:16:56,424 --> 00:16:57,504
What is beauty?
301
00:16:57,504 --> 00:16:58,634
What is love?
302
00:16:59,514 --> 00:17:06,048
You know, You would think that these
very, essential terms that we use
303
00:17:06,498 --> 00:17:10,918
would have very clear definitions
that might be your intuitive position.
304
00:17:11,358 --> 00:17:13,618
It's like, well, of course
we should know what truth is.
305
00:17:13,618 --> 00:17:16,198
You know, it's like one of the most
important things in the world where
306
00:17:16,458 --> 00:17:20,178
we talk about it all the time, but
then when you actually get into it
307
00:17:20,188 --> 00:17:23,808
and you try to define truth, you see
that philosophers have been debating
308
00:17:23,808 --> 00:17:27,593
it for Many, many centuries and it
continues to be a debate and there's
309
00:17:27,843 --> 00:17:29,293
different forms of truth, right?
310
00:17:29,293 --> 00:17:32,843
There's pragmatic truths
and transcendental truth,
311
00:17:33,093 --> 00:17:33,813
et cetera, et cetera.
312
00:17:33,823 --> 00:17:39,803
So money for some reason is one of
those terms, apparently one of these
313
00:17:39,803 --> 00:17:44,083
very potent, uh, essential terms.
314
00:17:44,103 --> 00:17:45,453
You know, it's an essential tool.
315
00:17:45,493 --> 00:17:48,983
Obviously everyone, every trading society.
316
00:17:49,968 --> 00:17:51,978
Has money or some form of money.
317
00:17:52,498 --> 00:17:56,008
Uh, you could also say that money's
more of an attribute, right?
318
00:17:56,038 --> 00:17:57,718
Than, than necessarily a thing.
319
00:17:58,688 --> 00:18:03,078
Yeah, an adjective is what we
said in the last talk we had,
320
00:18:03,198 --> 00:18:03,438
Yeah.
321
00:18:03,438 --> 00:18:04,278
An adjective, right?
322
00:18:04,278 --> 00:18:09,258
Because every asset that is traded in a
marketplace has some degree of moneys,
323
00:18:09,648 --> 00:18:12,478
which is commensurate with its liquidity.
324
00:18:12,988 --> 00:18:16,768
And the thing that has the most moneys
is the thing we call money, basically.
325
00:18:17,528 --> 00:18:26,458
so the, the very interesting realization
that I've had or am having still is how.
326
00:18:28,103 --> 00:18:32,983
Indispensable, let's say, let's say
insufficient languages, first of all,
327
00:18:32,983 --> 00:18:38,893
for describing this complex fluid world
continuum that we all inhabit, you know,
328
00:18:38,893 --> 00:18:42,123
we're using these little discrete data
packets called words and trying to map it
329
00:18:42,123 --> 00:18:44,793
onto this fluid domain we call reality.
330
00:18:45,473 --> 00:18:46,643
So it's insufficient.
331
00:18:46,988 --> 00:18:52,668
Yet, it's also indispensable in that
it is the best tool we have for, well,
332
00:18:52,678 --> 00:18:57,628
thinking, communicating, rationalizing,
reflecting, you know, calculating, etc.
333
00:18:58,418 --> 00:19:04,928
So been my big takeaway, I
guess, from doing the show.
334
00:19:04,988 --> 00:19:07,148
Not takeaway, I'm not,
it's nothing to take away.
335
00:19:07,148 --> 00:19:08,508
It's something I'm still thinking about.
336
00:19:08,508 --> 00:19:12,258
It's like, how do you describe
the nature of language itself?
337
00:19:12,258 --> 00:19:14,278
And it's taken me into
a lot of rabbit holes.
338
00:19:14,308 --> 00:19:20,868
Um, now to answer your question a
little more directly, I still think.
339
00:19:21,108 --> 00:19:30,448
The most useful conception of money is
as a storehouse or reservoir of time,
340
00:19:30,498 --> 00:19:36,046
you know, you might say human time, you
might say lifetime, and it's not just
341
00:19:36,046 --> 00:19:39,566
money though, it's really capital, right?
342
00:19:39,566 --> 00:19:44,526
Capital is the result of human spending
time, effort, and energy to create
343
00:19:44,556 --> 00:19:50,161
things That amplify the productivity
of others or allow future consumption
344
00:19:50,211 --> 00:19:52,081
for themselves or other people.
345
00:19:52,571 --> 00:19:58,681
So all capital is kind of like a, a
stored form of human time, but then
346
00:19:58,681 --> 00:20:04,511
money is just the, the form of capital
that is most liquid, most tradable.
347
00:20:05,101 --> 00:20:05,841
And so.
348
00:20:06,341 --> 00:20:12,091
It becomes a very close reflection
of time, and you see that in just
349
00:20:12,551 --> 00:20:15,801
people's day to day use of money,
right, in that you go to work, you
350
00:20:16,291 --> 00:20:20,901
trade time for money, and then you take
that money back into the marketplace.
351
00:20:21,716 --> 00:20:24,136
And you trade that money
for the time of others.
352
00:20:24,166 --> 00:20:27,676
So people will serve you at the restaurant
or building you a house or making
353
00:20:27,676 --> 00:20:29,476
you shoes or whatever the thing is.
354
00:20:30,346 --> 00:20:35,526
So I think there's a lot of intuitive
value in framing it as time.
355
00:20:35,656 --> 00:20:39,496
And then I think it's
also very useful for.
356
00:20:40,291 --> 00:20:43,711
Explicating the malevolent nature
of central banking, where you're
357
00:20:43,711 --> 00:20:47,421
like, okay, if there's a currency
counterfeiting monopoly, everyone's
358
00:20:47,421 --> 00:20:52,641
forced to use this stuff, they're stealing
purchasing power through, you know,
359
00:20:52,641 --> 00:20:54,841
arbitrarily inflating the money supply.
360
00:20:54,881 --> 00:20:56,051
Well, what does that equate to?
361
00:20:56,051 --> 00:20:58,231
If money is time, okay.
362
00:20:58,231 --> 00:21:00,301
It's systematic time theft, right?
363
00:21:00,301 --> 00:21:04,291
People are having their time stolen
systematically with every dollar printed.
364
00:21:05,201 --> 00:21:10,451
So, um, I guess that is still the
answer that I lean on the most.
365
00:21:10,451 --> 00:21:13,361
I also think, you know, obviously
Saylor bringing this whole perspective
366
00:21:14,041 --> 00:21:17,971
of money as energy to the table is
a big deal because you could equally
367
00:21:17,971 --> 00:21:23,336
argue it's, well, money is time,
money is energy, or As we've often
368
00:21:23,336 --> 00:21:25,006
said too, money is power, right?
369
00:21:25,006 --> 00:21:28,556
And power is a product of
time and energy, right?
370
00:21:28,566 --> 00:21:33,066
It's the, I think power is the capacity
to move energy over time, right?
371
00:21:33,599 --> 00:21:36,529
Or perform work over time, something
like that in a physics sense.
372
00:21:36,539 --> 00:21:39,574
So again, you ask this
question, what is money?
373
00:21:39,574 --> 00:21:46,439
And you end up in very fundamental
domains like physics and, um, You
374
00:21:46,439 --> 00:21:48,229
know, time, like what is time?
375
00:21:48,229 --> 00:21:50,609
Time is probably the most
mysterious thing in the universe.
376
00:21:51,209 --> 00:21:55,389
So it's maybe not useful from like a
very practical standpoint to say money
377
00:21:55,389 --> 00:22:00,589
is time, but I think it's very useful
from a philosophical standpoint in
378
00:22:00,659 --> 00:22:05,679
giving people somewhat of an intuitive
explanatory framework to deal with
379
00:22:05,679 --> 00:22:08,409
this very abstract, mysterious notion.
380
00:22:09,228 --> 00:22:13,948
all right, so about communication
and language in general, um, there's
381
00:22:13,948 --> 00:22:20,288
some points I have there, um, like,
if, if we want to apply the non,
382
00:22:20,288 --> 00:22:24,493
non aggression principle, and if
we want to Not use violence in any
383
00:22:24,493 --> 00:22:30,323
shape or form or fetch thereof, then
in my mind, at least communication
384
00:22:30,323 --> 00:22:32,063
is the only tool we have left.
385
00:22:32,113 --> 00:22:37,723
Like it's, it's not only, you know, a
tool, it's the tool that there, there
386
00:22:37,723 --> 00:22:39,483
are no other tools in the toolbox.
387
00:22:39,483 --> 00:22:46,023
Once, once you, once you, once you do
not allow yourself to use force anymore.
388
00:22:46,733 --> 00:22:47,983
So that's the only thing we have.
389
00:22:47,983 --> 00:22:53,323
So we need, so clear definitions
of words are crucial to that.
390
00:22:53,343 --> 00:22:58,213
And that's why one of the things I
like so much about Mises in particular,
391
00:22:58,213 --> 00:23:03,103
that he's very, very careful with
words and the definition of them.
392
00:23:03,593 --> 00:23:10,853
And to, I mean, I do agree that truth is
a, uh, a very hard word to define, but
393
00:23:10,983 --> 00:23:13,703
the word true, the words true and false.
394
00:23:14,763 --> 00:23:21,143
In a sense are the binary of any language
because we define everything else by
395
00:23:21,303 --> 00:23:26,153
having these, this binary base layer
of language, which is that is true.
396
00:23:26,173 --> 00:23:27,053
And that is false.
397
00:23:27,133 --> 00:23:29,773
I mean, is truth hard to define?
398
00:23:30,143 --> 00:23:31,803
Yes, that is true.
399
00:23:31,893 --> 00:23:37,103
I mean, there's always, you can always
boil down communication to these yin
400
00:23:37,103 --> 00:23:39,983
yang ones and zeros, true and false.
401
00:23:40,353 --> 00:23:46,428
So, so the word true, is, in a sense,
easier to define than the word truth, and
402
00:23:46,428 --> 00:23:50,038
even easier than the word truthfulness,
which is very hard to define.
403
00:23:50,488 --> 00:23:56,328
Um, because that implies some form of
subjectivity, but what do you say to that?
404
00:23:56,538 --> 00:23:57,228
What are your thoughts?
405
00:23:57,843 --> 00:23:59,843
so there's a strange thing here.
406
00:23:59,893 --> 00:24:00,343
Okay.
407
00:24:01,583 --> 00:24:08,193
First of all, the importance of, and maybe
this is why money is so hard to define
408
00:24:08,213 --> 00:24:12,333
as well, but I would say words, right?
409
00:24:12,333 --> 00:24:13,093
Language.
410
00:24:13,153 --> 00:24:14,683
This is a form.
411
00:24:15,728 --> 00:24:20,848
Words are a media of exchange, just like
money is a, you know, Mises would say,
412
00:24:20,978 --> 00:24:22,998
money is a universal medium of exchange.
413
00:24:23,668 --> 00:24:25,578
Well, I would say so are words, right?
414
00:24:25,578 --> 00:24:29,058
We're, we're just using them to
exchange as a medium to exchange
415
00:24:29,058 --> 00:24:31,558
human conceptions or ideas.
416
00:24:32,443 --> 00:24:35,983
Whereas money we're using to, as
a medium of exchange for actual
417
00:24:36,083 --> 00:24:37,973
goods and services, capital, right?
418
00:24:37,973 --> 00:24:39,873
The results of human action, let's say.
419
00:24:40,793 --> 00:24:46,473
So maybe it's because of these,
these intermediary devices.
420
00:24:47,353 --> 00:24:49,693
They're a little bit hard
to pin down and define.
421
00:24:50,713 --> 00:24:56,723
Um, I do agree with you that
absent rationality, all that
422
00:24:56,723 --> 00:24:58,803
really remains is raw power, right?
423
00:24:58,803 --> 00:24:59,703
It's might is right.
424
00:24:59,783 --> 00:25:00,763
If you can't have...
425
00:25:01,456 --> 00:25:04,866
Precise definitions that both
people have consensus on, which
426
00:25:04,866 --> 00:25:06,156
is obviously very important.
427
00:25:06,766 --> 00:25:11,076
Your notion of the number 7 needs to
match my notion of the number 7 for
428
00:25:11,076 --> 00:25:15,890
us to have rational communication
about mathematics, for instance, which
429
00:25:15,890 --> 00:25:18,960
is another way of saying there has
to be social consensus on each term.
430
00:25:19,950 --> 00:25:24,820
If you don't have that, right, if you
have a lack of consensus or no language
431
00:25:24,820 --> 00:25:29,480
at all, no rationality, no rational
argumentation, then what's left, right?
432
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,200
It's just pure animality.
433
00:25:31,850 --> 00:25:33,810
Who, who can beat up who?
434
00:25:34,427 --> 00:25:39,257
Well, this boils back to Hoppe's
argumentation ethics, which I find so
435
00:25:39,257 --> 00:25:44,337
insanely fascinating, because like, even
if we don't have consensus on what the
436
00:25:44,347 --> 00:25:50,767
number seven means, We can allow ourselves
to agree to disagree and like, there's
437
00:25:50,797 --> 00:25:55,357
where conversation ends, but as long as
there's no, you know, property to fight
438
00:25:55,377 --> 00:25:57,887
over, we can still agree to disagree.
439
00:25:58,332 --> 00:26:01,992
Well, you can, uh, you, you can agree
to disagree to the extent that rational
440
00:26:02,002 --> 00:26:03,682
communication is possible between you.
441
00:26:04,112 --> 00:26:05,062
That's the point that I'm trying to make.
442
00:26:05,637 --> 00:26:05,847
Yeah.
443
00:26:05,877 --> 00:26:06,237
Yeah.
444
00:26:06,587 --> 00:26:07,187
Totally agree.
445
00:26:07,187 --> 00:26:13,208
And, um, what's so fascinating here
about Bitcoin, Is that it's nothing
446
00:26:13,208 --> 00:26:16,248
but, uh, an agreement to disagree.
447
00:26:16,348 --> 00:26:19,338
Like, that is what Bitcoiners do.
448
00:26:19,348 --> 00:26:26,137
We agree to disagree, and because we
know that it's, it's, uh, it's harder
449
00:26:26,137 --> 00:26:30,207
to, it's more expensive to try to cheat
the system than to just follow the rules.
450
00:26:30,467 --> 00:26:36,203
And also, like, insanely fascinating
that Bitcoin has sort of teared down
451
00:26:36,203 --> 00:26:38,943
that wall between money and language.
452
00:26:39,443 --> 00:26:44,133
It is the same thing now, it is just
communication, like we, we, provably so,
453
00:26:44,133 --> 00:26:50,101
we can exchange goods and services for
a, for a number, which we can hold in
454
00:26:50,101 --> 00:26:56,061
our heads and, uh, we don't need anything
but that, it's just communication and
455
00:26:56,061 --> 00:26:59,621
all the computers involved are just an
extension of our mind and all this, uh,
456
00:27:00,231 --> 00:27:05,176
mumbo jumbo, uh, About all the time,
like how you are your Bitcoin, like
457
00:27:05,176 --> 00:27:06,996
there's a sense they are information.
458
00:27:06,996 --> 00:27:12,406
There's no nothing separating
you yourself from your Bitcoin.
459
00:27:12,416 --> 00:27:12,866
Really?
460
00:27:13,236 --> 00:27:14,896
It's just an extension of your mind.
461
00:27:14,896 --> 00:27:16,466
It's it lives with within you.
462
00:27:16,466 --> 00:27:19,656
And I think that that is what makes it so.
463
00:27:20,626 --> 00:27:22,336
Obvious that it's communication.
464
00:27:22,416 --> 00:27:26,376
And if money is just communication,
well, that changes everything.
465
00:27:26,476 --> 00:27:32,686
Like, so this whole notion that
we're being robbed by inflation,
466
00:27:33,196 --> 00:27:39,046
is that really involuntary or did
we put ourselves in that situation?
467
00:27:39,186 --> 00:27:43,406
Did we, did humanity like
choose to trust these things?
468
00:27:43,496 --> 00:27:44,646
And was that a bad choice?
469
00:27:44,646 --> 00:27:47,999
Like how, how enforced were government?
470
00:27:49,749 --> 00:27:51,129
Issued currencies, really?
471
00:27:51,159 --> 00:27:54,459
And how much did we just
fall for it, like, en masse?
472
00:27:54,841 --> 00:27:59,531
And back to the very, the importance
of precise definitions here.
473
00:27:59,531 --> 00:28:05,291
I would say that, yeah, holding
an inflationary currency or a
474
00:28:05,291 --> 00:28:09,721
fiat currency where you can have
your purchasing power stolen.
475
00:28:10,051 --> 00:28:18,501
VIA inflation is voluntary, however,
it is not consensual, uh, and Mr.
476
00:28:18,501 --> 00:28:21,351
Kinsella, I can thank him for
taking me to task on this.
477
00:28:21,381 --> 00:28:25,001
I used to always talk about voluntary
exchange, how important it is.
478
00:28:25,001 --> 00:28:29,581
He's like, well, actually the
definition of all, like he's the
479
00:28:29,581 --> 00:28:31,401
example of the mugger, right?
480
00:28:31,401 --> 00:28:32,096
When you.
481
00:28:32,256 --> 00:28:36,636
Get mugged in the back alley,
someone puts a gun to you and
482
00:28:36,636 --> 00:28:37,906
says, give me your wallet.
483
00:28:38,826 --> 00:28:42,776
Well, you voluntarily hand
the mugger your wallet, right?
484
00:28:42,776 --> 00:28:46,716
You control your arm and decide,
you know, the cost of me saying
485
00:28:46,716 --> 00:28:50,836
no to this guy is higher than the
benefit of me giving up my wallet.
486
00:28:50,836 --> 00:28:53,236
So I'm going to hand him
my wallet voluntarily.
487
00:28:54,036 --> 00:28:58,736
However, you're doing it under the
threat of violence or coercion.
488
00:28:58,776 --> 00:28:59,606
So you're not.
489
00:28:59,966 --> 00:29:04,626
Surrendering your wallet consensually,
although you are doing it voluntarily.
490
00:29:05,576 --> 00:29:09,206
An example of something that's
involuntary would be a seizure
491
00:29:09,226 --> 00:29:10,446
or a heart attack, right?
492
00:29:10,446 --> 00:29:12,096
Something that you can't control.
493
00:29:12,306 --> 00:29:17,594
Just your biology just controls
you basically in that situation.
494
00:29:17,604 --> 00:29:21,334
So when I look at central banking.
495
00:29:21,574 --> 00:29:27,574
You have a legal monopoly that preserves
the currency counterfeiting, um, or
496
00:29:27,594 --> 00:29:31,574
arrogates the currency counterfeiting
privilege to one group of shareholders
497
00:29:31,954 --> 00:29:34,574
and allows them to externalize
that onto everyone else, right?
498
00:29:34,574 --> 00:29:37,404
The guns are pointed out,
as I always like to say.
499
00:29:37,954 --> 00:29:39,254
They're protecting the future.
500
00:29:39,444 --> 00:29:42,324
Uh, central bank currency counterfeiting
monopoly, but the guns are pointed
501
00:29:42,334 --> 00:29:45,464
out such that everyone else is
effectively forced to use it.
502
00:29:46,332 --> 00:29:50,302
now, again, you're not forced,
like, again, it's still voluntary.
503
00:29:50,342 --> 00:29:54,842
We could all just choose to have used
physical gold all this time and said, no,
504
00:29:54,842 --> 00:29:56,312
we're never going to use your paper money.
505
00:29:56,895 --> 00:30:00,125
but obviously, as a means of
practicality, that doesn't work.
506
00:30:00,835 --> 00:30:03,685
It's hard to buy coffee with gold, right?
507
00:30:03,685 --> 00:30:06,415
It's hard to move gold around safely.
508
00:30:06,425 --> 00:30:07,225
There's all these.
509
00:30:08,180 --> 00:30:14,170
Problems with using gold for day to
day transactions, um, in a way that's
510
00:30:14,260 --> 00:30:16,460
not, that's not centrally custodied.
511
00:30:17,370 --> 00:30:17,920
So,
512
00:30:17,950 --> 00:30:19,730
any other commodity for that matter.
513
00:30:20,030 --> 00:30:20,950
yes, exactly.
514
00:30:21,030 --> 00:30:25,270
So to answer the question,
it's like, yes, holding an
515
00:30:25,270 --> 00:30:27,590
inflationary currency is voluntary.
516
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:28,940
You're doing it voluntarily.
517
00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:32,900
You could sell all your dollars and buy
physical gold and put it in your backyard.
518
00:30:33,260 --> 00:30:35,260
Now with Bitcoin, it's even easier, right?
519
00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:36,780
You can just hold Bitcoin.
520
00:30:37,266 --> 00:30:39,486
so every time you do choose to.
521
00:30:39,816 --> 00:30:45,106
Trade something, $4 or hold dollars in an
account, you're doing that voluntarily,
522
00:30:45,856 --> 00:30:50,356
but your purchasing power nonetheless, is
being stolen from you non consensually,
523
00:30:51,096 --> 00:30:55,476
and that you're participating, even though
you've voluntarily put yourself into this
524
00:30:55,686 --> 00:31:02,156
legal monopoly, you're not voting for,
uh, the counterfeiting of currency, right?
525
00:31:02,156 --> 00:31:03,836
You're not, you're not supporting it.
526
00:31:03,836 --> 00:31:05,246
You're not approving it.
527
00:31:05,916 --> 00:31:06,576
You're not really.
528
00:31:06,976 --> 00:31:09,156
I guess you could argue you're
opting into it if you have the
529
00:31:09,156 --> 00:31:12,546
right level of understanding,
but most people clearly don't.
530
00:31:13,388 --> 00:31:18,068
and that level of general level of
understanding is intentionally kept low.
531
00:31:18,698 --> 00:31:22,488
I always like to talk about,
I have a master's degree in
532
00:31:22,488 --> 00:31:23,738
accounting and finance, right?
533
00:31:23,738 --> 00:31:28,378
You would think I would know something
from my mainstream education about central
534
00:31:28,378 --> 00:31:30,058
banking, about the nature of money.
535
00:31:30,608 --> 00:31:31,328
Something, right?
536
00:31:31,328 --> 00:31:33,858
It's literally just the
language of business.
537
00:31:34,419 --> 00:31:37,229
everything we learn is about
how money moves in and out of
538
00:31:37,229 --> 00:31:39,889
businesses, how taxation works.
539
00:31:39,919 --> 00:31:46,889
My focus was in taxation, yet there was
not one single line of education given to
540
00:31:46,889 --> 00:31:51,449
me about Austrian economics, the nature
of money, no talk about central banking,
541
00:31:52,279 --> 00:31:56,449
uh, no talk about the trade offs and
opportunity costs that governments exist.
542
00:31:56,979 --> 00:32:02,199
And bureaucracies and central banks face,
you know, they're just treated as these.
543
00:32:03,309 --> 00:32:05,499
organizations inside of
the textbooks, right?
544
00:32:05,519 --> 00:32:08,489
The government just puts new
currency into circulation and takes
545
00:32:08,489 --> 00:32:09,899
new currency out of circulation.
546
00:32:10,039 --> 00:32:14,429
Like you don't, there's a black box there
that the education system doesn't go into.
547
00:32:15,049 --> 00:32:23,239
So it's pretty clear that, um, the
existing paradigm seeks to protect
548
00:32:23,239 --> 00:32:29,079
itself intellectually by not going into
the nature of money, where it comes
549
00:32:29,079 --> 00:32:31,139
from, Austrian economics, et cetera.
550
00:32:32,109 --> 00:32:36,569
Um, so, yes, it is voluntary,
but not consensual.
551
00:32:38,169 --> 00:32:41,779
Yeah, funny, funny you should give
that answer because I, I, uh, I love
552
00:32:41,779 --> 00:32:45,389
the Kinsella series you did, the
series you did with Stefan Kinsella.
553
00:32:45,849 --> 00:32:51,019
Uh, and it influenced why I
nowadays call myself a consensualist
554
00:32:51,109 --> 00:32:52,389
rather than a voluntarist.
555
00:32:53,229 --> 00:32:54,849
I mean, I think I went from...
556
00:32:55,214 --> 00:33:02,574
Libertarian leaning to anarcho capitalist,
which is sort of too aggressive, and then
557
00:33:02,624 --> 00:33:07,955
voluntarist and now consensualist because
I think consensualist frames it better.
558
00:33:08,015 --> 00:33:11,885
Like, I'd like as many
interactions between human beings
559
00:33:11,885 --> 00:33:13,765
to be consensual as possible.
560
00:33:14,055 --> 00:33:20,656
Like, that should be the The guiding
principle for your opinion on
561
00:33:20,756 --> 00:33:23,026
everything else, like if you have that.
562
00:33:23,515 --> 00:33:26,695
It's like the apex of
human rationality, right?
563
00:33:26,695 --> 00:33:30,395
It's like, of course, you want to
respect that we're all rational
564
00:33:30,405 --> 00:33:33,255
beings and we're all capable of
deciding for ourselves, so we don't
565
00:33:33,265 --> 00:33:35,865
need to be coerced into doing things.
566
00:33:36,825 --> 00:33:43,785
And I think this notion is pretty obvious
if you look at the dating market, right?
567
00:33:45,445 --> 00:33:49,905
Now, there have been arranged marriages,
there still are arranged marriages,
568
00:33:49,905 --> 00:33:53,465
there still is some degree of pressure,
perhaps in some cultures, to put people
569
00:33:53,465 --> 00:33:55,935
into certain, uh, marital arrangements.
570
00:33:56,745 --> 00:34:00,975
But in general, I think the moral
intuitions in the West are that we
571
00:34:01,105 --> 00:34:03,115
should all be free to choose our own.
572
00:34:03,310 --> 00:34:04,150
partner, right?
573
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:08,080
Or, or partners would date
whoever we want, marry whoever we
574
00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:09,580
want, if we want to get married.
575
00:34:10,347 --> 00:34:14,317
it would be pretty hard to
sell the idea of having a non
576
00:34:14,317 --> 00:34:16,077
consensual dating market, right?
577
00:34:16,157 --> 00:34:21,457
Where someone gets to coerce you into
being, uh, their boyfriend or girlfriend.
578
00:34:22,532 --> 00:34:26,092
And you know, another way that I've
framed this, and it's not always very
579
00:34:26,092 --> 00:34:32,832
popular, but the difference between
a job and slavery is consent, right?
580
00:34:32,832 --> 00:34:36,412
You can quit the job, you can say
no, and you can go get another job.
581
00:34:36,892 --> 00:34:40,752
If you're a physical slave in
the traditional sense, well, you
582
00:34:40,752 --> 00:34:42,612
can't, there's no opt out, right?
583
00:34:42,612 --> 00:34:45,572
You're, you are enslaved
against your consent.
584
00:34:46,432 --> 00:34:50,982
Uh, the difference between
a financial transaction and
585
00:34:51,112 --> 00:34:54,252
taxation or theft is Consent.
586
00:34:55,052 --> 00:34:58,652
If I can say no to the transaction,
take my business elsewhere, as
587
00:34:58,652 --> 00:35:00,802
can you, then we're, it's good.
588
00:35:00,802 --> 00:35:04,432
We're all consensual, but if I
refuse the transaction and there's
589
00:35:04,452 --> 00:35:07,632
a threat of coercion, well, then
that's the same situation I'm in
590
00:35:07,642 --> 00:35:09,052
with a mugger in the alley, right?
591
00:35:09,082 --> 00:35:11,782
I don't want to give
you my wallet for free.
592
00:35:11,822 --> 00:35:13,462
It's like, okay, well,
then I'll shoot you.
593
00:35:13,612 --> 00:35:13,882
Right?
594
00:35:13,882 --> 00:35:16,272
So that's obviously theft we
wouldn't call it a transaction ai
595
00:35:22,237 --> 00:35:24,117
Getting mugged or getting robbed.
596
00:35:25,027 --> 00:35:29,087
And in terms of the dating market,
you know, the difference between
597
00:35:29,437 --> 00:35:33,007
sex and rape is consent, right?
598
00:35:33,037 --> 00:35:37,407
Both parties need to be willing,
able, and consenting to have a
599
00:35:37,457 --> 00:35:40,747
normal sexual engagement between two.
600
00:35:41,082 --> 00:35:45,752
Uh, willing adults, if that's
absent on either side, right, if
601
00:35:45,752 --> 00:35:48,632
there's either party that wants to
say no but they're forced into it,
602
00:35:48,642 --> 00:35:50,252
well, then we would call that rape.
603
00:35:50,912 --> 00:35:54,842
So, you know, consent is very,
very, very important and I think we
604
00:35:54,842 --> 00:35:56,782
should strive to universalize it.
605
00:35:56,912 --> 00:36:01,902
I mean, it's the only way, it's the
only rational way to deal with the
606
00:36:01,942 --> 00:36:06,092
reality that we are all rational beings
and capable of choosing for ourselves.
607
00:36:07,205 --> 00:36:11,795
Yeah, this once again reminds me of
Hoppe's argumentation ethics, which
608
00:36:11,795 --> 00:36:17,720
basically say that if you have to If
you argue with someone, you have to
609
00:36:17,720 --> 00:36:21,410
respect their property rights, because
property rights are derived from the
610
00:36:21,410 --> 00:36:23,250
fact that you own your own faculties.
611
00:36:23,650 --> 00:36:27,510
If you don't accept that, that you're
using your tongue and your vocal cords
612
00:36:27,510 --> 00:36:32,340
and your lungs and so on to talk to, so
that you're in possession of them and
613
00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:37,090
you own them, if you don't respect that
in the other person, uh, so, so if you
614
00:36:37,140 --> 00:36:43,660
argue about something, the ownership of
something, or, uh, who's the rightful
615
00:36:43,660 --> 00:36:46,050
owner of something, and the conclusion...
616
00:36:46,725 --> 00:36:52,665
And you discard the conclusion and
then choose to, to take instead.
617
00:36:52,715 --> 00:36:57,235
So like if you argue about taxes with
a taxman, for instance, and the taxman
618
00:36:58,035 --> 00:37:04,365
agrees with you about everything you say,
but then still chooses to, to, uh, to
619
00:37:04,375 --> 00:37:09,520
force you to pay the taxes, it's That's
when the argument turns into mockery.
620
00:37:10,110 --> 00:37:13,310
Like, it's not an argument anymore,
it's just, he's just a bully.
621
00:37:14,380 --> 00:37:19,770
So it's not, the argument ceases
to be, argumentation ceases to be
622
00:37:19,770 --> 00:37:24,840
argumentation once property rights are
violated in any way, shape, or form.
623
00:37:26,270 --> 00:37:30,740
On this notion, like the thing you said
about consent, like, I love another
624
00:37:30,740 --> 00:37:34,780
series of yours that I highly recommend
is the Hillebrand series with our
625
00:37:34,780 --> 00:37:39,410
friend Max Hillebrand, where you talk
about the books, the Rothbard book,
626
00:37:39,780 --> 00:37:44,410
The Ethics of Liberty, which is one of
my favorite Austrian economics books,
627
00:37:44,660 --> 00:37:46,114
that one, and Max Hillebrand's books.
628
00:37:46,565 --> 00:37:50,445
Hoppus, um, which is another
recommendation from Max, by
629
00:37:50,445 --> 00:37:55,245
the way, the, the, um, economic
science and the Austrian method.
630
00:37:55,245 --> 00:37:55,695
I think it's
631
00:37:55,730 --> 00:37:56,265
the title.
632
00:37:56,265 --> 00:38:02,345
It's, uh, yeah, it's, it's not a
very click baity title, but, uh,
633
00:38:02,355 --> 00:38:04,455
but it's a great, very dense book.
634
00:38:04,455 --> 00:38:09,434
And those two books, I think they, they,
uh, they frame this so well, uh, and.
635
00:38:10,235 --> 00:38:12,735
Just about the things you've
been talking about here about
636
00:38:12,905 --> 00:38:14,735
consent and how important it
637
00:38:15,102 --> 00:38:17,582
I have a, I actually have some
stuff to say about that book.
638
00:38:18,072 --> 00:38:21,892
Um, I, that's a really,
really, really good book.
639
00:38:22,332 --> 00:38:23,982
Hoppe's got a lot of good stuff.
640
00:38:25,182 --> 00:38:27,932
Very unsexy title, as you
said, Economic Science and the
641
00:38:27,932 --> 00:38:30,292
Austrian Method, ESAM for short.
642
00:38:30,932 --> 00:38:36,612
very short book, but like most of Hoppe's
writing, very dense, very informative.
643
00:38:37,416 --> 00:38:40,496
I, I was blown away actually that he.
644
00:38:41,176 --> 00:38:45,482
One of the points that I took away from
that book was that he's saying that,
645
00:38:45,482 --> 00:38:50,752
like, the, the mind matter split, right,
the, the Cartesian split that we all
646
00:38:51,072 --> 00:38:55,032
sort of inherited when, when Descartes
said, I think, therefore, I am, as if
647
00:38:55,032 --> 00:38:57,562
there's two fundamental realities, right?
648
00:38:57,562 --> 00:39:01,902
There's the subjective thinking mind,
and then there is the objective world.
649
00:39:02,535 --> 00:39:04,945
Hoppe makes this point
that it's actually...
650
00:39:05,245 --> 00:39:11,015
That perhaps, actually, this distinction
between mind and matter, or between
651
00:39:11,015 --> 00:39:17,555
subject and object, is a subcategory
of human action, because it is only
652
00:39:17,575 --> 00:39:21,755
through human action where mind
and matter come together, right?
653
00:39:22,515 --> 00:39:25,755
It's almost like we're using
this distinction is like an
654
00:39:25,765 --> 00:39:29,776
artificial distinction that's
useful in many ways, right?
655
00:39:29,776 --> 00:39:31,086
We could say all value is the
656
00:39:35,146 --> 00:39:41,076
mind rather than a matter of the world,
but somehow action is like above that.
657
00:39:41,106 --> 00:39:46,116
Even action is the thing that allows
subject and object duality to even
658
00:39:46,116 --> 00:39:51,611
come into existence where many of us,
I think Western materialist worldview
659
00:39:51,641 --> 00:39:55,191
takes subject object reality to be the
most fundamental thing there is, right?
660
00:39:55,191 --> 00:39:58,861
That there is an actual split
between mind and matter.
661
00:39:59,511 --> 00:40:03,421
Whereas in fact, it seems to be
most things are continuous, right?
662
00:40:03,741 --> 00:40:07,881
I don't know that there's an
actual, out there, discrete
663
00:40:08,191 --> 00:40:09,551
split between mind and matter.
664
00:40:09,551 --> 00:40:11,741
So that, that blew my mind.
665
00:40:11,925 --> 00:40:16,085
again, just the, the primacy
of human action and how it's...
666
00:40:16,675 --> 00:40:17,455
It's everywhere.
667
00:40:17,455 --> 00:40:22,515
And I think that again, ties nicely
back into that book, Leela, where Persig
668
00:40:22,515 --> 00:40:26,805
saying it almost in a different way, that
value is the ground stuff of reality.
669
00:40:26,805 --> 00:40:30,845
They're like, there's no substance,
like value is the substance.
670
00:40:31,605 --> 00:40:32,225
And it's something
671
00:40:32,305 --> 00:40:36,045
Actually, would you mind giving
us a TLDR on that book for anyone
672
00:40:36,045 --> 00:40:36,985
who's not familiar with it?
673
00:40:37,345 --> 00:40:38,615
TLDR on Leela.
674
00:40:38,645 --> 00:40:42,555
Um, yeah, I would mind because I don't
know that that's actually possible.
675
00:40:43,247 --> 00:40:44,697
let me just say, so he's the.
676
00:40:45,477 --> 00:40:48,257
The author of Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle Maintenance, which was the
677
00:40:48,257 --> 00:40:52,667
most popular or best selling philosophy
book in the West, I think in the
678
00:40:52,667 --> 00:40:54,317
20th century, something like that.
679
00:40:54,777 --> 00:40:56,367
One of the best, maybe not the best.
680
00:40:57,187 --> 00:40:59,077
Uh, many people have read that one.
681
00:40:59,137 --> 00:41:00,967
Many people have heard of
it, if they haven't read it.
682
00:41:01,577 --> 00:41:04,927
Almost no one's heard of or read
the book he wrote 15 years later,
683
00:41:04,927 --> 00:41:06,797
which is Lila, which is much better.
684
00:41:07,637 --> 00:41:08,267
And Persig...
685
00:41:09,047 --> 00:41:11,147
Man, he's just like a next level genius.
686
00:41:11,147 --> 00:41:14,287
He blends fiction.
687
00:41:15,307 --> 00:41:19,337
So there's like a fictional story blended
with some elements of autobiography.
688
00:41:19,337 --> 00:41:22,857
He's actually writing about himself and
his life and some of his experiences
689
00:41:22,857 --> 00:41:24,417
blended into this fictional narrative.
690
00:41:24,917 --> 00:41:29,977
And then there's a non fictional, uh,
philosophical exploration about the nature
691
00:41:29,977 --> 00:41:33,437
of metaphysics and, uh, value and quality.
692
00:41:33,767 --> 00:41:36,177
He distinguishes between
dynamic and static.
693
00:41:36,597 --> 00:41:37,957
Value, et cetera.
694
00:41:40,767 --> 00:41:43,566
Um, the TLDR, I don't have a TLDR.
695
00:41:43,776 --> 00:41:47,946
He just gets into like all the
things we're talking about.
696
00:41:47,946 --> 00:41:53,406
We're talking about the nature of
value, the continuity between, you
697
00:41:53,406 --> 00:41:55,466
know, an organic and organic reality.
698
00:41:55,466 --> 00:41:59,486
Let's say he gives different levels
of value is the inorganic layer.
699
00:42:00,274 --> 00:42:04,004
biological, social, and intellectual,
there's different patterns of
700
00:42:04,004 --> 00:42:05,474
value that basically interact.
701
00:42:06,244 --> 00:42:12,514
He describes how these layers interact,
sort of like a software system, um,
702
00:42:12,514 --> 00:42:16,874
and it gives rise to basically a
whole metaphysical framework that he
703
00:42:16,874 --> 00:42:23,914
puts forth that stuff and substance
is not real, value and morality is.
704
00:42:24,544 --> 00:42:29,204
So it's a, it's a very strong argument
for the, the fundamental nature of, of.
705
00:42:29,919 --> 00:42:33,229
I guess you could say human
action or value itself.
706
00:42:33,919 --> 00:42:38,849
And, um, again, the ESAM book just
sort of dovetails nicely with that
707
00:42:38,849 --> 00:42:41,519
one, where it's like making the
argument that human action is this.
708
00:42:43,109 --> 00:42:46,099
Has this primacy that most
people don't understand.
709
00:42:46,099 --> 00:42:49,879
And again, if all action is an expression
of value, then we're kind of dancing
710
00:42:49,879 --> 00:42:52,329
around the same topic here, right?
711
00:42:52,329 --> 00:42:56,839
When, when you hear many people invoke
the word value is again, why I was
712
00:42:57,419 --> 00:43:00,709
hearkening to Peterson earlier, like, I'd
love to hear his like deep definition.
713
00:43:01,159 --> 00:43:04,449
I don't see how you escape human action.
714
00:43:04,499 --> 00:43:07,129
Like it's the, to act is to value, right?
715
00:43:07,129 --> 00:43:08,649
To, to express one's value.
716
00:43:09,739 --> 00:43:10,519
And so.
717
00:43:12,214 --> 00:43:16,144
Yeah, that's, I guess that's what I would
say about ESAM in general, and then I,
718
00:43:16,204 --> 00:43:21,684
just to circle back to something you said
earlier, Knut, about the tax man, you
719
00:43:21,684 --> 00:43:26,474
know, you're, when you argue with someone,
which was Hoppe's point, I think, you're
720
00:43:26,504 --> 00:43:33,584
implicitly acknowledging the reality
of individual self ownership, right?
721
00:43:33,584 --> 00:43:37,304
You are using your faculties
to try and put forth a point.
722
00:43:38,074 --> 00:43:40,754
You're listening to another
person employ their faculties
723
00:43:40,774 --> 00:43:42,424
to put forth their counterpoint.
724
00:43:43,189 --> 00:43:46,679
And the only way that process
can unfold is if, indeed,
725
00:43:46,689 --> 00:43:48,339
you both own yourself, right?
726
00:43:48,349 --> 00:43:52,199
Like, you, I own my faculties and
I'm generating the points that I'm
727
00:43:52,199 --> 00:43:56,099
putting forth, you're assimilating
that information, presumably, and
728
00:43:56,099 --> 00:43:58,189
generating your own counterpoint
and putting those things forth.
729
00:43:58,369 --> 00:44:02,639
The only way we can do that is through
this implicit acknowledgement of...
730
00:44:03,034 --> 00:44:05,614
Individuals owning themselves,
individual self ownership.
731
00:44:06,494 --> 00:44:11,194
And once the tax man says, okay, enough
of that, you know, even if he agrees
732
00:44:11,204 --> 00:44:14,684
with you, right, yes, we agree, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, but still
733
00:44:15,414 --> 00:44:22,414
pay me, right, pay the tax, you're
actually dis acknowledging, if that's
734
00:44:22,414 --> 00:44:24,786
even a word, individual self ownership.
735
00:44:24,806 --> 00:44:26,736
Cause all of a sudden you're
saying, well, that's all good.
736
00:44:26,736 --> 00:44:27,546
You own yourself.
737
00:44:27,546 --> 00:44:30,566
We had this argument, we reached
a conclusion, but give me your
738
00:44:30,566 --> 00:44:31,616
stuff or I'm going to hurt you.
739
00:44:32,276 --> 00:44:37,366
Alright, so you're, you're, you're,
you're actually, um, contradicting
740
00:44:38,656 --> 00:44:41,486
what argumentation confirms, right?
741
00:44:41,486 --> 00:44:43,526
You're disconfirming what
argumentation confirms.
742
00:44:43,526 --> 00:44:45,996
Argumentation is confirming
that individuals own themselves.
743
00:44:46,256 --> 00:44:50,306
When you result to coercion and violence,
you're disconfirming that reality.
744
00:44:50,856 --> 00:44:52,356
And when you do that...
745
00:44:52,626 --> 00:44:57,006
I mean, you unwind the entire
process of human civilization,
746
00:44:57,006 --> 00:44:59,116
rational discourse, etc, etc.
747
00:44:59,636 --> 00:45:02,526
Because if people don't own themselves,
and it's just a free for all, then
748
00:45:02,526 --> 00:45:03,886
we're back to might is right, right?
749
00:45:03,886 --> 00:45:04,946
Who's got the biggest stick?
750
00:45:05,656 --> 00:45:07,406
Uh, who can coerce who the hardest?
751
00:45:08,146 --> 00:45:13,731
I think in Atlas Shrugged, There's a
line, uh, she said, when force becomes the
752
00:45:13,731 --> 00:45:20,611
standard by which men interact, then the,
the pickpocket loses out to the tyrant
753
00:45:20,691 --> 00:45:22,361
or the murderer, something like that.
754
00:45:22,711 --> 00:45:26,201
So the race becomes who is
the most violent, right?
755
00:45:26,201 --> 00:45:29,631
Who can coerce and commit as
much violence as possible.
756
00:45:29,941 --> 00:45:31,011
Well, guess what that happened?
757
00:45:31,031 --> 00:45:32,971
Guess what that does to the world?
758
00:45:33,351 --> 00:45:37,851
Guys, when you commence that
race, civilizations vanish in
759
00:45:37,851 --> 00:45:42,301
a spread of slaughter and ruin,
I think, as she wrote as well.
760
00:45:42,431 --> 00:45:45,491
So, it's hard to
overstate how important...
761
00:45:46,246 --> 00:45:51,816
Rational discourse and respect for
universal respect for individual
762
00:45:51,816 --> 00:45:54,996
life, liberty, and property
is to the human enterprise.
763
00:45:55,813 --> 00:45:57,823
Okay, we have some big news.
764
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766
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767
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768
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769
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770
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771
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772
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773
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774
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779
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784
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794
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Yeah, and on that note, I mean what
what happens is that when when you
795
00:47:31,083 --> 00:47:37,995
have this class of people that that
are able to Coerce and use force
796
00:47:38,035 --> 00:47:40,325
to extract stuff from other people.
797
00:47:40,415 --> 00:47:46,595
Uh, that's why you get clown world
because the race becomes to, to, you know,
798
00:47:46,815 --> 00:47:49,235
look good to these people so that you.
799
00:47:49,665 --> 00:47:52,345
They will pay you or
they will hurt you less.
800
00:47:52,748 --> 00:47:59,778
and so, so I think, uh, what Bitcoin
did, like, was, uh, just turn that
801
00:47:59,778 --> 00:48:03,138
upside down and, and like give
property rights back to the people.
802
00:48:03,448 --> 00:48:06,518
So in that sense, I think Bitcoin
is one divided by Clown World.
803
00:48:06,518 --> 00:48:09,968
It's the literal inverse of,
of Clown World incentives.
804
00:48:10,688 --> 00:48:12,148
And I find that, that, yeah.
805
00:48:12,663 --> 00:48:13,843
That's my next equation.
806
00:48:13,843 --> 00:48:15,673
I need to put that somewhere.
807
00:48:15,863 --> 00:48:17,983
Bitcoin is one divided by Clown World.
808
00:48:18,333 --> 00:48:23,483
Um, so, so on, um, back to Rothbard
and Hoppe because I love them so
809
00:48:23,483 --> 00:48:26,923
much, uh, and, and also, uh, Ayn Rand.
810
00:48:26,943 --> 00:48:30,473
But congrats on that beautiful
little video clip you did from,
811
00:48:30,633 --> 00:48:33,603
from that section about money in the
book, by the way, it was beautiful.
812
00:48:33,883 --> 00:48:36,103
Oh, I take no credit for that.
813
00:48:36,123 --> 00:48:38,353
My editor is a genius.
814
00:48:38,393 --> 00:48:38,733
I just
815
00:48:39,618 --> 00:48:40,528
Yes, he is.
816
00:48:40,623 --> 00:48:42,573
it to him and he makes it beautiful.
817
00:48:43,080 --> 00:48:47,920
okay, okay, okay, anyway, uh, what
was, uh, where was I going with this?
818
00:48:47,920 --> 00:48:51,740
Yeah, uh, about ownership, uh,
versus possession, because I think
819
00:48:51,740 --> 00:48:57,130
this is, uh, on the same line of,
You know, argumentation and mockery,
820
00:48:57,130 --> 00:49:02,860
it's, it's adjacent, like ownership
is like a legal, uh, relationship
821
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:05,480
with, with a, a thing, right?
822
00:49:05,750 --> 00:49:10,440
Because like, you can own a thing,
but someone else may possess it, like
823
00:49:10,470 --> 00:49:16,890
the, the gold that is legally belongs
to African countries in some central
824
00:49:16,900 --> 00:49:21,330
banks in the West, but the West refuses
to give it back or whatever, like,
825
00:49:22,330 --> 00:49:25,853
but Bitcoin, What is owning a bitcoin?
826
00:49:25,903 --> 00:49:28,573
Like, can you even own a bitcoin?
827
00:49:28,653 --> 00:49:29,813
Can you possess it?
828
00:49:29,913 --> 00:49:31,893
Or is it just keeping a secret?
829
00:49:31,893 --> 00:49:36,553
Like, are we on an even deeper level
of ownership than, than possession?
830
00:49:36,573 --> 00:49:40,203
Like, is this even, even more robust?
831
00:49:40,468 --> 00:49:44,348
Uh, like, what's, what's
your thoughts on that?
832
00:49:44,428 --> 00:49:46,918
Because that's something that's
been, you know, tickling my
833
00:49:46,918 --> 00:49:48,058
mind for a long time now.
834
00:49:48,718 --> 00:49:49,028
Yeah.
835
00:49:49,028 --> 00:49:50,818
It's very, very mysterious.
836
00:49:50,858 --> 00:49:54,958
Um, I think it was you,
someone that coined.
837
00:49:55,798 --> 00:49:56,768
The whole phrase, right?
838
00:49:56,778 --> 00:50:01,386
Like to with Bitcoin owning
and is now knowing, knowing and
839
00:50:01,716 --> 00:50:03,586
Yeah, yeah, knowing is owning.
840
00:50:04,086 --> 00:50:04,456
Yep.
841
00:50:05,701 --> 00:50:08,291
but again, I would credit Kinsella here.
842
00:50:08,771 --> 00:50:10,711
I used to think, Oh yeah,
that totally makes sense.
843
00:50:10,711 --> 00:50:16,301
But he's like, well, actually you have
to, you've got to, uh, decompose this
844
00:50:16,301 --> 00:50:21,861
terminology a little bit because ownership
is actually a legal, a legally, um,
845
00:50:21,861 --> 00:50:25,571
enforceable claim on an asset, right?
846
00:50:25,571 --> 00:50:26,241
On a scarce.
847
00:50:27,261 --> 00:50:31,291
Uh, scarce asset, such that you
can exclude others from its use.
848
00:50:32,181 --> 00:50:36,271
you could say ownership is like
recourse to the legal apparatus of
849
00:50:36,271 --> 00:50:38,901
coercion to resolve a dispute, right?
850
00:50:38,901 --> 00:50:42,781
If someone steals your car, well,
you might not be in possession
851
00:50:42,781 --> 00:50:46,151
of your car after they steal
it, but you still own it, right?
852
00:50:46,151 --> 00:50:52,011
You have the title or whatever it may be,
and so you can bring to bear force, right?
853
00:50:52,031 --> 00:50:53,871
Legally to get it back, right?
854
00:50:53,881 --> 00:50:55,991
They can pull the guy
over and arrest him and...
855
00:50:56,576 --> 00:50:58,276
Take the car and give it back to you.
856
00:50:59,467 --> 00:51:03,667
And that's fundamentally different from
possession, which in a strict sense
857
00:51:03,667 --> 00:51:06,407
is just physical custody, effectively.
858
00:51:07,401 --> 00:51:12,151
and so Bitcoin, what can you own Bitcoin?
859
00:51:12,711 --> 00:51:18,341
You know, I, I guess you, it sort
of has a foot in both worlds in a
860
00:51:18,341 --> 00:51:22,251
way, because a judge could pass.
861
00:51:23,551 --> 00:51:25,041
A judge could make a judgment, right?
862
00:51:25,041 --> 00:51:28,891
And say, Hey, this Bitcoin belongs,
this Bitcoin that's in possession
863
00:51:28,911 --> 00:51:32,731
of Robert belongs to Knut, right?
864
00:51:32,981 --> 00:51:35,131
Knut is the rightful
owner of this Bitcoin.
865
00:51:35,161 --> 00:51:41,221
But if I'm in possession of the keys, um,
that's, it's hard to enforce that, right?
866
00:51:41,221 --> 00:51:45,871
I can also have all this plausible
deniability like, Oh, sorry, judge
867
00:51:45,871 --> 00:51:47,041
had the boating accident, right?
868
00:51:47,041 --> 00:51:48,401
You know, it's, it's all gone now.
869
00:51:49,971 --> 00:51:57,591
So I guess in a strict legal sense,
you can own Bitcoin and that a legal
870
00:51:58,891 --> 00:52:05,121
apparatus can tell you, like, who is the
rightful owner of a specific private key.
871
00:52:05,959 --> 00:52:09,499
I don't, again, I don't, I'm not
saying that this is being done, but,
872
00:52:09,649 --> 00:52:12,869
um, it, it can be done, I guess.
873
00:52:13,309 --> 00:52:20,459
But to possess Bitcoin is something
entirely different, right, to actually
874
00:52:20,549 --> 00:52:25,607
have the private key, and even then
you don't really have, you don't, you
875
00:52:25,607 --> 00:52:31,567
don't physically custody a piece of
material reality, right, you've got an
876
00:52:31,577 --> 00:52:37,467
alphanumeric string, you've just got,
uh, information, right, which as you're
877
00:52:37,467 --> 00:52:40,587
saying is like something like keeping
a secret, and yeah, it's a great point,
878
00:52:40,597 --> 00:52:45,292
it's not, it's If, if, if possession
meant physical custody, then you never
879
00:52:45,292 --> 00:52:47,522
really physically custody Bitcoin.
880
00:52:47,542 --> 00:52:54,932
You're just guarding that secret, which
allows you to unlock, the, the ability
881
00:52:54,932 --> 00:52:57,892
to spend from that UTXO set, right?
882
00:52:57,912 --> 00:53:01,612
So it's, it's different somehow.
883
00:53:02,021 --> 00:53:05,511
and I guess in that sense, it's
kind of like just guarding a.
884
00:53:08,576 --> 00:53:09,066
Secret.
885
00:53:09,176 --> 00:53:11,236
I, I, yeah, I guess that's
the best way to put it.
886
00:53:11,576 --> 00:53:13,086
And so no, can you own it?
887
00:53:13,436 --> 00:53:16,846
Yes, technically, but the
ownership is largely unenforceable.
888
00:53:16,846 --> 00:53:17,946
I think in most cases.
889
00:53:18,936 --> 00:53:19,836
Can you possess it?
890
00:53:19,836 --> 00:53:22,686
Not really, because you can't
physically possess the thing.
891
00:53:22,686 --> 00:53:24,046
It's just informational.
892
00:53:24,376 --> 00:53:25,746
So what can you do with it?
893
00:53:25,926 --> 00:53:31,186
Uh, you can keep your private key
guarded and secret and use it to
894
00:53:31,186 --> 00:53:32,766
the extent that you can do that.
895
00:53:33,318 --> 00:53:35,348
Yeah, because I think we need a whole...
896
00:53:35,488 --> 00:53:42,618
A whole plethora of new laws around
this, uh, if, if, or, or no laws at
897
00:53:42,618 --> 00:53:46,948
all, because like the, the, the current
legal framework in different countries
898
00:53:46,948 --> 00:53:50,448
have different approaches to it, and
they try to enforce like old words,
899
00:53:50,618 --> 00:53:52,928
world stuff onto this new thing.
900
00:53:53,508 --> 00:53:54,908
But, but, but.
901
00:53:55,308 --> 00:54:01,048
Even proving that someone is in
possession of a Bitcoin is, is impossible.
902
00:54:01,108 --> 00:54:04,098
Because how do you prove
that someone knows something?
903
00:54:04,688 --> 00:54:06,768
Like, uh, you can't.
904
00:54:06,828 --> 00:54:12,518
And, and like, uh, it's kind of vulgar
that they, those, these chain anal
905
00:54:12,558 --> 00:54:14,618
companies that, that try to do that.
906
00:54:14,618 --> 00:54:19,758
And they try to set, you know, legal
precedents for, uh, for this stuff.
907
00:54:20,058 --> 00:54:26,598
When, when it, you, you, not only can you
not prove that someone is in possession
908
00:54:26,598 --> 00:54:32,478
of it, you cannot prove that someone
else isn't like you can guess the key.
909
00:54:32,798 --> 00:54:35,958
I mean, it's the, the chances
of you guessing the right
910
00:54:35,958 --> 00:54:37,508
key are astronomically small.
911
00:54:37,508 --> 00:54:40,908
And that's why, that's why we trust
this thing to, to the extent that we
912
00:54:40,908 --> 00:54:47,039
do, but at the end of the day, there's
no real way to prove that someone has.
913
00:54:47,154 --> 00:54:48,604
knowledge about something.
914
00:54:48,904 --> 00:54:52,974
And it's only when you put, when you
put this like on a computer, on a
915
00:54:52,984 --> 00:54:57,234
hardware wallet, or, uh, you know, on
a steel plate, then you turn it into
916
00:54:57,234 --> 00:55:00,804
a physical thing because then the
letters are engraved in that thing.
917
00:55:01,374 --> 00:55:07,004
Uh, and then it becomes physical,
but it doesn't have to be physical.
918
00:55:07,004 --> 00:55:11,609
And this is I find this so insanely
fascinating because, like, you can think
919
00:55:11,609 --> 00:55:15,919
of all sorts of situations where this,
where this becomes problematic, like
920
00:55:15,929 --> 00:55:20,849
if you have, um, if you fly with your
12 words, for instance, and you get
921
00:55:20,849 --> 00:55:24,429
stopped in the security check, what's
stopping the security officer from
922
00:55:24,429 --> 00:55:27,469
just, you know, copying those words?
923
00:55:30,314 --> 00:55:36,554
Or, uh, which is a whole new, uh,
there's a whole slew of new problems
924
00:55:36,554 --> 00:55:40,914
there that come with, come with
this notion of, of, uh, keeping
925
00:55:40,914 --> 00:55:42,434
a secret or not keeping a secret.
926
00:55:42,434 --> 00:55:44,774
And, and, uh, the, the thing.
927
00:55:46,114 --> 00:55:50,954
The thing it does, it invokes
responsibility in people, because once
928
00:55:50,954 --> 00:55:55,814
you dive down in this rabbit hole,
you realize that you have to keep the
929
00:55:55,814 --> 00:56:02,664
secret, and you have to figure out for
yourself what the best way for you of
930
00:56:02,664 --> 00:56:08,664
keeping the secret is, because there's no
universal answer to how to keep a secret.
931
00:56:09,414 --> 00:56:15,814
And so, uh, yeah, there's so much to
unpack there because now I'm ranting
932
00:56:15,814 --> 00:56:21,344
on here, I know, but if, if it's just
keeping a secret, they're a part of you
933
00:56:22,104 --> 00:56:27,684
and that's, so, and how, how big a part
of you is up to you because it's opt
934
00:56:27,684 --> 00:56:30,864
in, so you can, you can have a hundred
percent of your wealth in Bitcoin,
935
00:56:31,174 --> 00:56:36,124
or you can have 1%, but how much you
have in Bitcoin in comparison to how
936
00:56:36,124 --> 00:56:38,174
much you live in the, uh, clown world.
937
00:56:39,100 --> 00:56:43,070
you, you have a tool now where,
where you can choose to opt out to
938
00:56:43,070 --> 00:56:47,300
a specific percentage of your being.
939
00:56:47,420 --> 00:56:52,270
Like this, 60% of me can never
be coerced into anything.
940
00:56:52,540 --> 00:56:53,950
Like, I can, I can do that.
941
00:56:53,950 --> 00:56:56,140
Literally, I can say, uh, okay.
942
00:56:56,350 --> 00:57:00,940
I, I can put up with some coercion to
just to, you know, have a police force and
943
00:57:01,510 --> 00:57:02,980
, you know, a fire brigade and whatnot.
944
00:57:03,430 --> 00:57:07,875
But, uh, I think I'm fine with
just paying, uh, 15 percent taxes.
945
00:57:08,685 --> 00:57:09,775
I'll opt out of the rest.
946
00:57:09,785 --> 00:57:10,175
Thank you.
947
00:57:10,395 --> 00:57:11,585
And you can just do that.
948
00:57:12,235 --> 00:57:13,925
And that's true for everyone in the world.
949
00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:19,280
I find it so insanely fascinating
and how the question becomes,
950
00:57:19,800 --> 00:57:22,880
how, how far off into the future?
951
00:57:24,500 --> 00:57:27,750
I mean, how long will it take
before everyone realizes that
952
00:57:27,750 --> 00:57:29,570
this is, this is already true?
953
00:57:30,344 --> 00:57:32,964
Well, that's a great question.
954
00:57:32,984 --> 00:57:39,304
Um, you know, I think always answering
questions about timing is very important.
955
00:57:40,549 --> 00:57:45,339
I'm sorry, very difficult, obviously very
important, but very, very difficult to
956
00:57:45,389 --> 00:57:47,429
say when something is going to happen.
957
00:57:48,584 --> 00:57:49,804
Yeah, it's a stupid question.
958
00:57:49,804 --> 00:57:50,104
I know.
959
00:57:50,104 --> 00:57:50,704
I mean,
960
00:57:51,224 --> 00:57:52,234
That's not stupid.
961
00:57:52,314 --> 00:57:53,164
It's very important.
962
00:57:53,234 --> 00:57:53,424
All right.
963
00:57:53,424 --> 00:57:55,914
It's like, well, when would
be very useful to know, but I
964
00:57:55,914 --> 00:57:59,614
think it's equally, incredibly
difficult to answer that question.
965
00:58:00,334 --> 00:58:05,284
So, uh, a couple of things, just to
like things you said there, right?
966
00:58:05,284 --> 00:58:09,684
It's astronomically difficult
to guess someone's private key.
967
00:58:10,674 --> 00:58:14,614
Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I
think the right term might even be
968
00:58:14,614 --> 00:58:18,034
it's, it's like beyond astronomically.
969
00:58:18,569 --> 00:58:21,149
Small the chances of actually
guessing someone's private key.
970
00:58:22,244 --> 00:58:23,974
it's like the more, what is it?
971
00:58:24,004 --> 00:58:27,994
The chances like if you made a guess
every second, you would need longer
972
00:58:27,994 --> 00:58:30,024
than the life of the universe, right?
973
00:58:30,054 --> 00:58:31,624
To guess someone's private key.
974
00:58:31,624 --> 00:58:32,394
So it's actually
975
00:58:32,789 --> 00:58:33,489
on average.
976
00:58:34,324 --> 00:58:34,944
small.
977
00:58:35,439 --> 00:58:36,119
Yeah.
978
00:58:37,309 --> 00:58:41,359
Yeah, so, so infinitesimal that
we obviously trust it as if it's
979
00:58:41,359 --> 00:58:44,779
not even possible, effectively,
to guess someone's private key.
980
00:58:45,522 --> 00:58:50,532
and then the other like aspect
I would introduce is it sounds
981
00:58:50,532 --> 00:58:53,692
like, especially people that don't
understand Bitcoin, like, oh my
982
00:58:53,692 --> 00:58:55,312
God, that's a lot of responsibility.
983
00:58:55,312 --> 00:58:56,232
That's scary.
984
00:58:56,232 --> 00:58:58,002
I'm going to carry this secret in my head.
985
00:58:58,002 --> 00:59:02,072
And like, what if I get knocked
out or if I get amnesia or someone
986
00:59:02,082 --> 00:59:03,502
tortures me to get the key?
987
00:59:03,502 --> 00:59:04,652
You know, all of these things.
988
00:59:05,732 --> 00:59:07,022
It's not a binary, right?
989
00:59:07,022 --> 00:59:07,422
It's not.
990
00:59:07,662 --> 00:59:11,192
You either trust someone else with
your private key, or you hold your
991
00:59:11,192 --> 00:59:12,712
private key between your ears.
992
00:59:12,972 --> 00:59:15,812
There's all these other
possible custody schemas.
993
00:59:16,642 --> 00:59:21,572
Um, you know, I think multi key or multi
sig is obviously very important here.
994
00:59:21,602 --> 00:59:26,622
You can take that secret, chop it into
pieces, into mini secrets, if you will,
995
00:59:26,652 --> 00:59:31,292
and distribute that among different
people inside of your circle of trust.
996
00:59:32,142 --> 00:59:35,972
And then you need a certain quorum
of those mini secrets to unlock.
997
00:59:36,297 --> 00:59:38,217
Spending ability, right?
998
00:59:38,217 --> 00:59:39,727
A 3 of 5, etc.
999
00:59:39,727 --> 00:59:41,617
So there's ways to like de risk it.
1000
00:59:42,229 --> 00:59:46,669
you know, even take, even ratcheting down
the responsibility to some degree that
1001
00:59:46,669 --> 00:59:50,939
you'd still have a lot of responsibility
to keep up with 1 of 5, but if you
1002
00:59:50,939 --> 00:59:52,679
lose it, it's not the end of the world.
1003
00:59:52,699 --> 00:59:56,529
Whereas if it's a 1 of 1, well,
it is the end of that world, at
1004
00:59:56,529 --> 00:59:58,339
least if you lose your private key.
1005
00:59:59,035 --> 01:00:01,075
And also that gives you some
resistance against just the
1006
01:00:01,075 --> 01:00:03,445
whole, against coercion, right?
1007
01:00:03,445 --> 01:00:07,405
Against 5 wrenches or the guy stopping
you in the airport, you know, trying to
1008
01:00:07,415 --> 01:00:09,965
copy your, your seed phrase or whatever.
1009
01:00:10,485 --> 01:00:13,445
You're not subject to a
single point of failure.
1010
01:00:14,185 --> 01:00:16,735
So I always think that's a very
important point when we talk about
1011
01:00:16,745 --> 01:00:21,825
these topics because people get scared
when they hear, What do you mean?
1012
01:00:22,285 --> 01:00:24,685
I have to memorize my whole
life's worth and if I forget
1013
01:00:24,685 --> 01:00:27,515
or mess up, I'm, it's over?
1014
01:00:27,555 --> 01:00:29,965
And so, important.
1015
01:00:30,155 --> 01:00:33,275
can have all, all sorts of
solutions at the same time.
1016
01:00:33,275 --> 01:00:37,845
You can have a multi sig, you can have a
single sig hardware wallet and a custodial
1017
01:00:37,845 --> 01:00:42,235
phone wallet for different, different
solutions for different purposes, right?
1018
01:00:42,765 --> 01:00:46,695
So, uh, yeah, and I, I think that
we need to educate people more
1019
01:00:46,695 --> 01:00:48,775
about that, that aspect of it, that.
1020
01:00:49,385 --> 01:00:54,565
Bitcoin can be extremely simple to
use, but then they're somewhat at
1021
01:00:54,565 --> 01:01:02,245
risk, and they can be hard, it can
be hard to set up a really, you know,
1022
01:01:02,835 --> 01:01:09,425
theft proof solution, but On the other
hand, they're, they're probably, they
1023
01:01:09,425 --> 01:01:11,225
will probably there be there forever.
1024
01:01:12,033 --> 01:01:16,063
Yeah, so it's like, you know, you put
a few dollars in your pocket to go out
1025
01:01:16,063 --> 01:01:20,593
at night, you know, that might be your
equivalent to your hot wallet, right?
1026
01:01:20,603 --> 01:01:23,093
You might have a few more, if
you're traveling, you might have
1027
01:01:23,093 --> 01:01:27,093
a few more dollars hidden inside
your suitcase somewhere, right?
1028
01:01:27,093 --> 01:01:30,673
This is kind of like your, uh, little
account you'll draw from as you're
1029
01:01:30,673 --> 01:01:34,173
traveling, you'll swap US dollars for
local currency or whatever it may be,
1030
01:01:34,773 --> 01:01:39,928
that's kind of like, uh, Maybe like a non
custodial wallet, something like that.
1031
01:01:40,718 --> 01:01:45,378
And then, you know, you're the vast
majority of your wealth for most
1032
01:01:45,428 --> 01:01:50,368
people, anyone that has, uh, any amount
of wealth, you know, like well over
1033
01:01:50,368 --> 01:01:56,208
90%, you'd probably keep in a deep
cold storage multi sig device, right?
1034
01:01:56,208 --> 01:02:01,328
And that would be equivalent to, I don't
know, uh, A bank account for most people,
1035
01:02:01,328 --> 01:02:04,508
which is not actually a good solution
because there's counterparty risk there,
1036
01:02:05,168 --> 01:02:09,088
uh, might be equivalent to gold in a vault
or gold buried in the ground for others.
1037
01:02:10,078 --> 01:02:14,208
But yeah, it's just to reinforce
your point, it, it, you don't
1038
01:02:14,208 --> 01:02:15,628
need one solution, right?
1039
01:02:15,888 --> 01:02:18,888
You can have different solutions
for different use cases and you can
1040
01:02:19,548 --> 01:02:21,888
rebalance and reallocate as needed.
1041
01:02:22,816 --> 01:02:24,636
your earlier question,
though, like when...
1042
01:02:25,841 --> 01:02:31,551
When the people realize this, um,
you've probably heard me say this
1043
01:02:31,561 --> 01:02:35,691
before, cause I say it all the time,
but I just don't think most people move
1044
01:02:35,721 --> 01:02:39,121
until they feel sufficient pain, right?
1045
01:02:40,541 --> 01:02:44,941
There's not a lot of nerds in the world
that want to sit here and spend all
1046
01:02:44,941 --> 01:02:50,001
this time going down the Bitcoin rabbit
hole that are curious enough, that are
1047
01:02:50,021 --> 01:02:56,270
intelligent enough, patient enough, To,
to really try and learn all these lessons,
1048
01:02:56,270 --> 01:03:00,000
right, or try to understand computer
science and economics and incentives
1049
01:03:00,000 --> 01:03:06,330
and, you know, all the different, uh,
disciplines that Bitcoin touches or that
1050
01:03:06,330 --> 01:03:10,210
you touch going down the Bitcoin rabbit
hole, I don't think a lot of people have
1051
01:03:10,250 --> 01:03:12,655
the patience or wherewithal to pursue.
1052
01:03:12,995 --> 01:03:17,785
Go into that to, to get the Bitcoin,
Bitcoin, orange pill epiphany.
1053
01:03:18,855 --> 01:03:26,125
But what most people do have is a
tacit experience of pain, right?
1054
01:03:26,125 --> 01:03:30,225
Like if their bank account is frozen
or they can't get their capital out
1055
01:03:30,225 --> 01:03:36,515
of a country or their currency is
hyperinflating or they're a rich guy and.
1056
01:03:37,110 --> 01:03:41,180
You know, living in Russia and Putin's
going to seize their company or seize
1057
01:03:41,180 --> 01:03:46,550
their yacht or otherwise redistribute
their wealth forcibly, well, that starts
1058
01:03:46,600 --> 01:03:51,130
to really give people the light bulb
moments like, Oh shit, okay, my stuff
1059
01:03:51,140 --> 01:03:55,170
is getting taken or my currency is
failing or whatever situation I'm being
1060
01:03:55,170 --> 01:03:58,940
subjected to under this duress, right?
1061
01:03:58,940 --> 01:04:03,980
This actual pain, painful experience
I'm living through kind of forces people
1062
01:04:03,980 --> 01:04:05,680
to start evaluating their options.
1063
01:04:05,750 --> 01:04:07,170
And as we've.
1064
01:04:07,765 --> 01:04:15,275
Discussed and laid out, there seems to be
only really one viable option for an asset
1065
01:04:15,315 --> 01:04:20,685
that cannot be forcibly taken from you,
um, assuming you've custody it properly.
1066
01:04:20,695 --> 01:04:24,615
So, I think, unfortunately, we
have to go through more pain.
1067
01:04:24,625 --> 01:04:28,355
We have to go through more
hyperinflations, more forced
1068
01:04:28,365 --> 01:04:34,554
asset seizures, more statism,
before we see Bitcoin really
1069
01:04:34,554 --> 01:04:36,394
start to shine in the eyes of.
1070
01:04:37,184 --> 01:04:37,874
the majority
1071
01:04:38,426 --> 01:04:42,056
just to play the devil's advocate here
for a while, um, if I were to make a
1072
01:04:42,056 --> 01:04:46,776
counter argument to that, that would
be places like Lebanon or Argentina
1073
01:04:46,776 --> 01:04:51,156
or Zimbabwe, where Venezuela, where
hyperinflation is a real thing.
1074
01:04:51,696 --> 01:04:59,451
I mean, Bitcoin adoption exists there,
but it's not big, like, uh, so, and
1075
01:04:59,451 --> 01:05:03,521
that might be because these countries
started to hyperinflate way before
1076
01:05:03,801 --> 01:05:05,581
people knew about Bitcoin at all.
1077
01:05:06,479 --> 01:05:13,299
Can we, can we trust that pain will turn
people into hyperbitcoinization mode?
1078
01:05:13,379 --> 01:05:17,989
Like it's, it's hard to
formulate this question, but
1079
01:05:18,129 --> 01:05:19,809
just curious about your thoughts.
1080
01:05:20,093 --> 01:05:24,733
Well, I mean, the other thing is we
have to keep in mind where we are in
1081
01:05:24,733 --> 01:05:28,203
Bitcoin's monetization process, right?
1082
01:05:28,253 --> 01:05:28,483
Like
1083
01:05:29,795 --> 01:05:33,325
Bitcoin will not be purchasing
power stable in the short
1084
01:05:33,325 --> 01:05:35,935
run for a long time, right?
1085
01:05:35,935 --> 01:05:39,925
It's just, just too small of
a market cap at this point.
1086
01:05:40,535 --> 01:05:44,955
Maybe when it's in the tens of trillions
of dollars in market cap, it's, it's short
1087
01:05:44,955 --> 01:05:47,405
term purchasing power will be more stable.
1088
01:05:48,115 --> 01:05:49,605
And that really tends to be what.
1089
01:05:49,900 --> 01:05:53,890
People are looking for, particularly
in hyperinflations, right, they want
1090
01:05:53,890 --> 01:05:58,190
to get out of the purchasing power
unstable currency, the currency that's
1091
01:05:58,330 --> 01:06:01,820
plummeting in purchasing power day
over day, week over week, and they
1092
01:06:01,820 --> 01:06:02,585
want to get into a week over week.
1093
01:06:02,915 --> 01:06:07,935
Short term purchasing power stable
currency that tends to be the U.
1094
01:06:07,935 --> 01:06:08,065
S.
1095
01:06:08,065 --> 01:06:08,835
dollar, right?
1096
01:06:08,835 --> 01:06:11,555
When Zimbabwe hyperinflates,
people want to get into dollars.
1097
01:06:12,005 --> 01:06:17,455
So the pain, I'm not saying it's like
you feel the pain once and then all of
1098
01:06:17,455 --> 01:06:20,285
a sudden you're like orange pilled and
you're all in on Bitcoin, but if you
1099
01:06:20,285 --> 01:06:25,215
could imagine going further into the
future, sure, currencies that hyperinflate
1100
01:06:25,215 --> 01:06:27,275
today, maybe they want to dollarize.
1101
01:06:28,135 --> 01:06:31,535
Um, and I would expect this to, this
pattern to continue to play out,
1102
01:06:31,535 --> 01:06:36,815
actually, as weaker currencies fail,
you would see more of these economies or
1103
01:06:36,815 --> 01:06:40,295
individuals in those economies looking
to move their savings into dollars,
1104
01:06:41,035 --> 01:06:46,125
um, just, again, as a means of gaining
short term purchasing power stability.
1105
01:06:46,965 --> 01:06:48,105
But what happens when the U.
1106
01:06:48,105 --> 01:06:48,375
S.
1107
01:06:48,375 --> 01:06:52,515
dollar, which is also being
counterfeited rampantly, you know, I
1108
01:06:52,545 --> 01:06:54,345
think we've increased the supply of U.
1109
01:06:54,345 --> 01:06:54,455
S.
1110
01:06:54,455 --> 01:06:54,855
dollars.
1111
01:06:55,275 --> 01:07:00,305
To the tune of 50 percent or more
in the past three years, I, I, the
1112
01:07:00,305 --> 01:07:03,825
number 50 to 60%, I think of the
numbers that I've heard over the past
1113
01:07:03,930 --> 01:07:10,840
The best, the best number I've
seen there is in 2021, 21 million
1114
01:07:11,210 --> 01:07:12,980
were printed per Bitcoin mined.
1115
01:07:13,965 --> 01:07:19,695
So 7 trillion, like, uh, divided
by the number of bitcoins printed.
1116
01:07:19,735 --> 01:07:20,105
Right.
1117
01:07:20,175 --> 01:07:22,075
And so that was in one year.
1118
01:07:22,355 --> 01:07:23,605
And that was when the U.
1119
01:07:23,605 --> 01:07:23,845
S.
1120
01:07:25,230 --> 01:07:30,630
What M2 is probably in the neighborhood
of, I don't know, 15 to 18, 20
1121
01:07:31,460 --> 01:07:32,770
trillion, something like that.
1122
01:07:32,770 --> 01:07:34,530
I'm actually not sure, but
1123
01:07:35,125 --> 01:07:36,815
7 trillion were printed.
1124
01:07:36,845 --> 01:07:41,005
I mean, it's kind of hard to
define because M2 and M1, they're
1125
01:07:41,005 --> 01:07:43,085
sort of diffuse terms, right?
1126
01:07:43,245 --> 01:07:45,795
It's not the money in circulation, really.
1127
01:07:46,295 --> 01:07:48,695
So it's kind of hard to describe it.
1128
01:07:49,116 --> 01:07:55,326
what I wanted to get at is, is that
it's a, call it a 50 percent increase
1129
01:07:55,376 --> 01:07:57,811
in the money supply, whatever your.
1130
01:07:58,011 --> 01:08:01,251
Gauge you're using and someone can check
my math, but I think roughly over the
1131
01:08:01,251 --> 01:08:02,771
past three years, we've expanded U.
1132
01:08:02,771 --> 01:08:02,891
S.
1133
01:08:02,891 --> 01:08:06,471
dollar supply 50%, 5 0 or more.
1134
01:08:07,341 --> 01:08:12,011
So, all these other countries that
are dollarizing and um, you know,
1135
01:08:12,011 --> 01:08:14,371
people would say, oh, this bullish
dollar, this dollar is going to
1136
01:08:14,371 --> 01:08:15,631
last forever, blah, blah, blah.
1137
01:08:15,631 --> 01:08:16,321
It's like, okay.
1138
01:08:16,861 --> 01:08:17,851
Well, what is the U.
1139
01:08:17,851 --> 01:08:17,961
S.
1140
01:08:17,961 --> 01:08:18,401
dollar?
1141
01:08:19,121 --> 01:08:19,291
U.
1142
01:08:19,291 --> 01:08:19,411
S.
1143
01:08:19,411 --> 01:08:22,181
dollar is just the best
of the worst, right?
1144
01:08:22,181 --> 01:08:24,521
It's just another fiat
currency that weaker fiat
1145
01:08:24,741 --> 01:08:26,311
currencies are collapsing into.
1146
01:08:27,001 --> 01:08:31,061
So what happens, and when you study
the nature of fiat currencies, I think
1147
01:08:31,061 --> 01:08:35,381
you'll quickly determine that they
really only head one direction, right?
1148
01:08:36,041 --> 01:08:38,801
There are massive incentives
to counterfeit them into
1149
01:08:38,861 --> 01:08:40,211
worthlessness over time.
1150
01:08:40,871 --> 01:08:43,021
So the big question becomes
what happens when...
1151
01:08:44,196 --> 01:08:46,296
Major currencies or even the U.
1152
01:08:46,296 --> 01:08:46,476
S.
1153
01:08:46,476 --> 01:08:48,346
dollar start to hyperinflate.
1154
01:08:48,726 --> 01:08:50,136
Where do people run then?
1155
01:08:50,146 --> 01:08:51,666
You can't dollarize out of a U.
1156
01:08:51,666 --> 01:08:51,836
S.
1157
01:08:51,856 --> 01:08:54,726
dollar denominated hyperinflation.
1158
01:08:55,166 --> 01:08:56,246
So what do you do then?
1159
01:08:57,051 --> 01:09:00,981
that's where I think the pain,
the real pain that's going to wake
1160
01:09:00,981 --> 01:09:03,401
people up uh, is going to come.
1161
01:09:03,401 --> 01:09:09,381
And a lot of people will say, You know,
uh, Santiago capital, Brett Johnson.
1162
01:09:10,321 --> 01:09:12,261
He will just tell you this
never going to happen.
1163
01:09:12,261 --> 01:09:14,061
The U S dollar is going to last forever.
1164
01:09:14,071 --> 01:09:16,591
We're just such a bad
ass imperialist country.
1165
01:09:16,591 --> 01:09:20,371
There's no way we'll ever let the
dollar fall and blah, blah, blah.
1166
01:09:21,061 --> 01:09:22,791
Um, I just don't buy it.
1167
01:09:23,011 --> 01:09:24,131
I just simply don't buy it.
1168
01:09:24,131 --> 01:09:25,861
I think human beings follow incentives.
1169
01:09:26,191 --> 01:09:31,391
The incentives of having a U S
dollar fiat currency as a central
1170
01:09:31,401 --> 01:09:35,281
bank is to just keep producing it
and using it to extract wealth.
1171
01:09:36,151 --> 01:09:40,391
Um, that ultimately leads to the
debasement of the currency and
1172
01:09:40,391 --> 01:09:43,891
eventually hyper debasement or
hyper inflation of the currency.
1173
01:09:44,711 --> 01:09:48,801
And I think there's also major
incentives for foreign counterparties
1174
01:09:48,841 --> 01:09:50,461
to dump dollars over time.
1175
01:09:50,501 --> 01:09:53,631
And we already see the
BRICS countries, right?
1176
01:09:53,781 --> 01:09:57,270
Uh, Brazil, Russia, India,
China, South Africa.
1177
01:09:57,496 --> 01:10:01,826
talking about launching a currency that's
orthogonal to the U S dollar, right.
1178
01:10:01,826 --> 01:10:04,606
And, and commodity based
and all of these things.
1179
01:10:04,976 --> 01:10:10,206
So we've already moved from this kind
of unipolar dollar world to much more of
1180
01:10:10,206 --> 01:10:13,276
a multipolar world with especially the.
1181
01:10:13,566 --> 01:10:18,876
The beginning of the Russia Ukraine
conflict, I would expect that to continue.
1182
01:10:19,516 --> 01:10:22,416
All of that results in
diminishing demand for the U.
1183
01:10:22,416 --> 01:10:22,546
S.
1184
01:10:22,546 --> 01:10:25,166
dollar, which is going to
mean more dollar printing.
1185
01:10:25,756 --> 01:10:28,916
and I, you know, I think we see U.
1186
01:10:28,916 --> 01:10:29,026
S.
1187
01:10:29,026 --> 01:10:30,096
dollar hyperinflation.
1188
01:10:30,146 --> 01:10:34,836
Now, again, timing, very scary to talk
about here, but I already put out a
1189
01:10:34,836 --> 01:10:36,946
public prediction, so I'll stick with it.
1190
01:10:37,636 --> 01:10:42,136
I think by the year 2035, we see the
US dollar going into hyperinflation.
1191
01:10:43,456 --> 01:10:46,606
And so the big question
for me is like, what then?
1192
01:10:46,786 --> 01:10:50,406
What, what do you dollarize
into at that point, right?
1193
01:10:50,406 --> 01:10:54,336
There's, there's no, you've,
you've used up all the options in
1194
01:10:54,336 --> 01:10:55,796
the fiat currency stack, right?
1195
01:10:55,796 --> 01:11:00,246
You've been scurrying up the liquidity
hierarchy to the most liquid fiat currency
1196
01:11:00,246 --> 01:11:02,636
to escape your local hyperinflation.
1197
01:11:02,636 --> 01:11:06,736
Well, what happens when the point of
escape becomes the point of failure?
1198
01:11:07,626 --> 01:11:08,696
Where do people go then?
1199
01:11:10,376 --> 01:11:12,816
Well, take the orange pill
now or be forced to take the
1200
01:11:12,816 --> 01:11:14,346
orange suppository later.
1201
01:11:14,506 --> 01:11:14,706
That's
1202
01:11:15,336 --> 01:11:15,896
That's right.
1203
01:11:15,976 --> 01:11:19,656
Yeah, you could take the orange
pill orally now, or it'll be forced
1204
01:11:19,656 --> 01:11:22,026
as a suppository later, perhaps.
1205
01:11:22,096 --> 01:11:22,836
exactly.
1206
01:11:23,041 --> 01:11:26,461
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01:13:14,137 --> 01:13:16,997
okay, let's, let's, let's
just a weird thought.
1246
01:13:17,097 --> 01:13:21,967
Uh, I love to try to extrapolate
the thought vectors as far off into
1247
01:13:21,967 --> 01:13:23,867
the future as possible as you know.
1248
01:13:23,897 --> 01:13:28,917
So, so we talked a bit
about volatility and.
1249
01:13:29,692 --> 01:13:33,032
In your mind, does Bitcoin
ever become stable?
1250
01:13:33,142 --> 01:13:38,552
Because imagine a hyperbitcoinized world
where everything is priced in Bitcoin
1251
01:13:38,552 --> 01:13:40,292
and all the fiat currencies have died.
1252
01:13:41,012 --> 01:13:45,012
And you have, I mean, we're, us
three dorks here, we're like the
1253
01:13:45,012 --> 01:13:46,352
first generation of Bitcoiners.
1254
01:13:47,512 --> 01:13:52,452
And people like us are going to
lose a lot of Bitcoin along the way.
1255
01:13:52,472 --> 01:13:54,832
We're not going to be able to like...
1256
01:13:56,102 --> 01:14:01,402
Store them properly and so, so, so I think
people are underestimating the SAT squeeze
1257
01:14:01,432 --> 01:14:06,432
because of just people losing their keys
here in their boating accidents and so on.
1258
01:14:07,292 --> 01:14:12,602
So, so if that is the case and you
get into this global sound money free
1259
01:14:12,602 --> 01:14:16,542
market with increased productivity
everywhere and purchasing power go
1260
01:14:16,542 --> 01:14:23,372
up, like there's a point where like
technology is adopted in an S curve, but.
1261
01:14:23,992 --> 01:14:27,862
I don't really ever see the top
of this in necessarily in Bitcoin,
1262
01:14:27,872 --> 01:14:31,452
because what would be the top like
when all the people are on board?
1263
01:14:31,522 --> 01:14:32,922
Well, there's still more money.
1264
01:14:33,312 --> 01:14:36,902
Well, when all the money is on board,
well, there's still more productivity.
1265
01:14:37,312 --> 01:14:38,522
Like, does it ever end?
1266
01:14:38,552 --> 01:14:44,682
And combine that with more and more
bitcoins lost, like, This thing is, you
1267
01:14:44,682 --> 01:14:50,972
know, it's the forever Laura thing, but
the, the, the, the weirdness of the, the
1268
01:14:50,972 --> 01:14:53,702
rate of forever Laura ness, if you will.
1269
01:14:54,532 --> 01:14:56,512
Well, what, what are
your thoughts on that?
1270
01:14:57,014 --> 01:14:58,234
Oh, man, this is great.
1271
01:14:58,734 --> 01:15:03,204
This is the infinity divided
by 21 million, right?
1272
01:15:03,284 --> 01:15:05,114
It's like, where, where's the top?
1273
01:15:05,284 --> 01:15:07,314
Well, we just call it infinity, right?
1274
01:15:08,144 --> 01:15:08,744
So...
1275
01:15:09,444 --> 01:15:15,064
It's very interesting to me because what
you have, you know, assuming the Bitcoin
1276
01:15:15,074 --> 01:15:23,314
thesis plays out is you have a guaranteed
fraction, like to whatever degree money
1277
01:15:23,314 --> 01:15:30,504
is being demanded as, uh, to be held
as savings, as cash balances, right?
1278
01:15:30,504 --> 01:15:36,044
It's going to be a reflection
of the capital that's
1279
01:15:36,044 --> 01:15:37,734
available in the marketplace.
1280
01:15:38,982 --> 01:15:43,092
That capital is a reflection of
how productive we actually are.
1281
01:15:43,982 --> 01:15:49,082
And, um, I actually just listened
this morning to, uh, Guy Swan
1282
01:15:49,082 --> 01:15:52,922
read Alan Farrington's piece on
the killer app of Bitcoin being.
1283
01:15:53,287 --> 01:15:55,287
It properly pricing capital.
1284
01:15:56,077 --> 01:15:57,757
And I thought that was really interesting.
1285
01:15:58,397 --> 01:16:02,747
Um, so Bitcoin is going to improve
productivity a number of ways.
1286
01:16:02,757 --> 01:16:08,767
One, and this would be Hoppe's point in
a theory of socialism and capitalism.
1287
01:16:09,947 --> 01:16:15,847
The degree to which private property
is made less viable, which is to
1288
01:16:15,847 --> 01:16:20,557
say that theft is more expensive,
difficult, or risky is the same degree
1289
01:16:20,557 --> 01:16:25,477
to which we are incentivizing people
to produce rather than steal, right?
1290
01:16:25,487 --> 01:16:25,897
It's like.
1291
01:16:26,232 --> 01:16:30,442
There's two roads to wealth acquisition,
I can make it or I can take it,
1292
01:16:31,142 --> 01:16:34,472
and if taking is very difficult,
if stealing is very difficult, well
1293
01:16:34,472 --> 01:16:37,902
then I'm left with only the other
option, which is making, right?
1294
01:16:38,602 --> 01:16:42,502
Creating things of value, trading
with other people, consensually, etc.
1295
01:16:42,972 --> 01:16:45,912
We've already talked about how
Bitcoin sort of tilts the scales
1296
01:16:45,912 --> 01:16:50,582
away from making and towards, away
from taking and towards making, and
1297
01:16:50,582 --> 01:16:52,902
that because it's expensive to steal.
1298
01:16:53,752 --> 01:16:56,492
And if you start stealing people's
stuff, right, if you start stealing my
1299
01:16:56,492 --> 01:16:59,352
yachts and houses and whatever, well
then maybe I'll just start selling
1300
01:16:59,352 --> 01:17:03,092
everything else and putting it into
Bitcoin and moving elsewhere where
1301
01:17:03,102 --> 01:17:06,512
the government doesn't steal my stuff
or have stronger property rights.
1302
01:17:07,012 --> 01:17:12,442
So you get this self organizing dynamic in
the world where people are going to be...
1303
01:17:12,652 --> 01:17:17,802
More likely to engage in consensual
trade, long term trading relationships,
1304
01:17:18,492 --> 01:17:21,102
making in general, and less so in taking.
1305
01:17:22,652 --> 01:17:28,892
Now, Alan's point in his paper was
interesting too, that we have a really
1306
01:17:28,892 --> 01:17:34,242
hard time pricing capital appropriately
under the current fiat paradigm.
1307
01:17:34,512 --> 01:17:38,252
Um, and when you start to price...
1308
01:17:38,627 --> 01:17:42,517
Capital appropriately, you actually
increase productivity that people
1309
01:17:42,517 --> 01:17:47,217
are actually able to figure out,
you know, through a, a sound and
1310
01:17:47,217 --> 01:17:52,867
reliable price signal or profit
signal, which uses of capital are
1311
01:17:52,867 --> 01:17:55,537
satisfying the most human wants, right?
1312
01:17:55,637 --> 01:18:00,147
You get a very clear signal about
where that capital needs to go, whereas
1313
01:18:00,147 --> 01:18:05,467
in a fiat paradigm, you have more of
this short termism, um, Just trying
1314
01:18:05,467 --> 01:18:08,907
to generate the quarterly profit, you
know, long term results be damned.
1315
01:18:09,607 --> 01:18:13,387
So I think Bitcoin, you know, again, I
only listened to this once today and I
1316
01:18:13,387 --> 01:18:19,907
can't expand upon it super intelligently,
but to the extent that Bitcoin allows
1317
01:18:19,947 --> 01:18:24,647
the proper pricing of capital, I think
it also increases human productivity.
1318
01:18:25,297 --> 01:18:30,587
And so all these expansions that Bitcoin's
providing via its incentive system, To
1319
01:18:30,587 --> 01:18:35,377
human productivity are, interestingly
enough, also accretive to the purchasing
1320
01:18:35,377 --> 01:18:38,467
power that Bitcoin represents over time.
1321
01:18:38,987 --> 01:18:43,687
So it's like, uh, you know, the, the
Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail.
1322
01:18:44,137 --> 01:18:45,637
This is like the inverse of that, right?
1323
01:18:45,637 --> 01:18:47,977
It's like the snake feeding
its own mouth or something.
1324
01:18:47,977 --> 01:18:50,367
You know, Bitcoin's actually
creating more human productivity
1325
01:18:50,367 --> 01:18:51,367
through these incentives.
1326
01:18:51,862 --> 01:18:55,582
And then just fattening the snake and
the purchasing power that Bitcoin itself
1327
01:18:55,582 --> 01:18:57,552
is a reflection of as it monetizes.
1328
01:18:58,422 --> 01:19:00,102
So what is the top of that?
1329
01:19:00,102 --> 01:19:02,172
I mean, how can any of us possibly know?
1330
01:19:02,192 --> 01:19:05,922
It's like asking what is the
pinnacle of human development, right?
1331
01:19:05,922 --> 01:19:08,342
What is, what's the final
stage of human evolution?
1332
01:19:08,342 --> 01:19:09,452
How far are we going to get?
1333
01:19:09,472 --> 01:19:10,672
Are we going to the stars?
1334
01:19:10,672 --> 01:19:11,952
Are we going to other dimensions?
1335
01:19:12,747 --> 01:19:14,677
Where does human ingenuity hit a ceiling?
1336
01:19:14,747 --> 01:19:16,807
You know, it's like the
equivalent question.
1337
01:19:16,907 --> 01:19:21,757
So I, I really have no, no clue, but
it is certainly fun to think about.
1338
01:19:21,757 --> 01:19:26,137
And if you, and if you frame it
that way, it's like, okay, to hold,
1339
01:19:26,147 --> 01:19:27,997
this is why Bitcoin is legacy.
1340
01:19:28,447 --> 01:19:29,677
I don't want to say it's wealth, right?
1341
01:19:29,677 --> 01:19:32,677
Money is not wealth necessarily,
but it's, it's legacy.
1342
01:19:33,162 --> 01:19:41,612
Purchasing power preservation, because
you hold a, a basically a claim on all
1343
01:19:41,622 --> 01:19:47,002
the successful entrepreneurial enterprises
that have occurred and will ever occur
1344
01:19:47,412 --> 01:19:49,352
in human history for the rest of time.
1345
01:19:50,812 --> 01:19:54,887
And you can own, you know, one,
one 21 millionth of that, or 10 21
1346
01:19:54,887 --> 01:19:58,152
millionths of that, or 121 millionths
of that, whatever fraction you want.
1347
01:19:58,192 --> 01:20:00,782
And to your earlier point, obviously the.
1348
01:20:02,157 --> 01:20:04,297
The denominator is decreasing, right?
1349
01:20:04,297 --> 01:20:05,347
It's not 21 million.
1350
01:20:05,367 --> 01:20:06,657
What, how many coins are there really?
1351
01:20:06,657 --> 01:20:08,287
17, 15, whatever.
1352
01:20:08,937 --> 01:20:14,827
Um, so that's very, like, it's a
very powerful framing for just how
1353
01:20:14,837 --> 01:20:17,457
legacy altering Bitcoin can be.
1354
01:20:18,852 --> 01:20:21,092
Everything there is and
everything there ever will be
1355
01:20:21,092 --> 01:20:23,407
divided by That was, well, well,
1356
01:20:23,867 --> 01:20:24,767
At most, 21
1357
01:20:24,807 --> 01:20:25,547
21 million.
1358
01:20:27,197 --> 01:20:27,577
Yeah.
1359
01:20:28,248 --> 01:20:31,238
Rob, I absolutely love
the conversations we have.
1360
01:20:31,268 --> 01:20:35,028
And I, I, uh, sincerely hope that
we get to do more of them, uh,
1361
01:20:35,498 --> 01:20:37,378
preferably in person, but also online.
1362
01:20:37,378 --> 01:20:40,108
I mean, we just need to keep
this conversation going.
1363
01:20:40,108 --> 01:20:42,018
I think that's, that's the way forward.
1364
01:20:42,478 --> 01:20:44,358
So thanks very much for coming on.
1365
01:20:44,388 --> 01:20:48,398
Um, Luke, do you have any final questions
for Rob before we round this out?
1366
01:20:49,338 --> 01:20:55,198
Uh, well, I, yeah, I was just going to
say that, uh, the last, yeah, I don't
1367
01:20:55,198 --> 01:21:00,738
know, hour or so here, very bullish,
uh, enjoying the energy, um, to,
1368
01:21:00,738 --> 01:21:03,668
to be honest, I don't have anything
specific, uh, anything else would
1369
01:21:03,678 --> 01:21:08,928
be into a rabbit hole, but, uh, I've
appreciated your, uh, your time and, uh,
1370
01:21:09,068 --> 01:21:13,108
take on this, uh, any final thoughts,
anything else on your mind these days?
1371
01:21:13,588 --> 01:21:13,828
what
1372
01:21:17,278 --> 01:21:20,728
Rob, sincerely, you should have
Luke on and, uh, on your show
1373
01:21:20,728 --> 01:21:22,198
and talk about maps of meaning.
1374
01:21:22,608 --> 01:21:23,898
That's, um, that's my
1375
01:21:23,928 --> 01:21:24,388
I would love
1376
01:21:24,558 --> 01:21:24,978
for the day.
1377
01:21:25,658 --> 01:21:26,658
Yeah, I would love to.
1378
01:21:26,698 --> 01:21:28,758
Um, I would definitely love to.
1379
01:21:28,768 --> 01:21:31,288
So please feel free to like email me.
1380
01:21:31,298 --> 01:21:33,808
What we usually do is a
conversation outline beforehand.
1381
01:21:34,678 --> 01:21:38,168
And then I'll just go through that and
we can get a time to talk on the books.
1382
01:21:38,718 --> 01:21:42,708
Um, and yeah, Knut,
thank you for having me.
1383
01:21:42,878 --> 01:21:43,508
Um.
1384
01:21:43,968 --> 01:21:45,908
Always enjoy our conversations.
1385
01:21:46,611 --> 01:21:51,111
I, you know, this it's mind bending
still to me that it's just this,
1386
01:21:51,741 --> 01:21:55,601
just this monetary innovation,
which is, I never thought it would
1387
01:21:55,611 --> 01:22:00,091
be such a philosophical rabbit hole
in so many different directions.
1388
01:22:00,121 --> 01:22:05,351
And, um, I don't know, sometimes I catch
myself like the things I'm reading about
1389
01:22:05,351 --> 01:22:09,141
or thinking about, I'm like, how did this
all, how did Bitcoin lead to all this?
1390
01:22:09,971 --> 01:22:10,211
Yeah.
1391
01:22:10,401 --> 01:22:16,366
uh, I feel very grateful, but um, also
maybe even overwhelmed at times is how
1392
01:22:16,366 --> 01:22:21,633
many different directions, Bitcoin takes
the mind and so always really like,
1393
01:22:21,733 --> 01:22:24,683
really like talking to you because it
seems like you're on a similar path and.
1394
01:22:25,153 --> 01:22:26,833
We always have fun things to talk about.
1395
01:22:27,488 --> 01:22:27,758
Right.
1396
01:22:27,758 --> 01:22:29,468
By catch you and, yeah.
1397
01:22:29,498 --> 01:22:30,368
Came for the Lambo.
1398
01:22:30,368 --> 01:22:31,658
Stayed for Zen, I
1399
01:22:31,855 --> 01:22:32,108
guess.
1400
01:22:32,763 --> 01:22:33,573
exactly.
1401
01:22:34,423 --> 01:22:35,013
Exactly.
1402
01:22:36,843 --> 01:22:39,293
Yep, I think I think that's
a perfect way to end it on.
1403
01:22:39,293 --> 01:22:42,743
So thanks again, Rob, for joining
us on the Freedom Footprint show.
1404
01:22:43,633 --> 01:22:44,133
Thank you guys.
1405
01:22:45,325 --> 01:22:45,585
Yeah.
1406
01:22:45,585 --> 01:22:49,115
Like, subscribe and brush your teeth and
click the little bell for notifications
1407
01:22:49,145 --> 01:22:50,605
and follow Rob's channel as well.
1408
01:22:52,055 --> 01:22:55,547
Actually, did you want to do an official
where you want to, where do you want to
1409
01:22:55,557 --> 01:22:56,157
to find you.
1410
01:22:56,817 --> 01:22:59,637
Uh, yeah, I, I'm whatismoneypodcast.
1411
01:22:59,677 --> 01:23:05,057
com, uh, or Twitter's my biggest
social platform at breedlove22.
1412
01:23:06,211 --> 01:23:06,711
Perfect.
1413
01:23:07,151 --> 01:23:07,841
Thanks again.
1414
01:23:08,081 --> 01:23:09,321
This has been the Freedom Footprint show.
1415
01:23:10,350 --> 01:23:12,180
So what did you think of
that episode with Robert?
1416
01:23:12,810 --> 01:23:15,940
I really enjoyed digging into Maps of
Meaning with him and his explanation
1417
01:23:15,940 --> 01:23:18,830
of Leela has sent that book right
to the top of my reading list.
1418
01:23:19,640 --> 01:23:20,710
What was your favorite moment?
1419
01:23:20,990 --> 01:23:21,610
Let us know.
1420
01:23:22,050 --> 01:23:25,140
You can send us a boostogram on
Fountain, leave us a comment on YouTube,
1421
01:23:25,150 --> 01:23:27,200
or get in touch on Nostr or Twitter.
1422
01:23:27,940 --> 01:23:30,060
If you're watching on YouTube
don't forget to like the episode
1423
01:23:30,060 --> 01:23:31,150
and subscribe to the channel.
1424
01:23:31,680 --> 01:23:35,530
Our show's sponsors are Amber
App, Wasabi Wallet, Orange Pill
1425
01:23:35,530 --> 01:23:37,850
App, The Bitcoin Way, and Geyser.
1426
01:23:38,550 --> 01:23:42,850
Check out their details in the
That's all for now, see you next
1427
01:23:42,860 --> 01:23:44,710
time, and thanks for listening.