Exploring historical examples and current trends, the chapter raises concerns about liberal democracies being replaced by totalitarian regimes due to advantages in information technology for authoritarian governments. Discussions include the impact of lowering information costs on liberalism, potential challenges to the thesis of technology benefiting totalitarian regimes, and the differences between physical and internet warfare.
What if the information anarchy of the internet spells the downfall of liberalism?
Economist Noah Smith and Ethereum Founder Vitalik Buterin join us for a fascinating discussion on why Authoritarianism might be the answer to the current information warfare. Yes, you heard that right.
We start the episode by defining liberalism, how it has brought excessive polarization and why totalitarianism might be the only solution left. We then steelman the case against this same argument and how blockchains and crypto could play a role in all this.
0:00 Intro 8:53 Defining Liberalism 21:50 Information Warfare 42:17 Summarizing the Argument 55:09 Could the Thesis be Wrong? 1:11:12 Information Leviathans 1:34:13 The Role of Blockchains 1:38:22 Closing & Disclaimers