The Liberal Games and the State of Nature

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Timothy Stanley: I think it reminds me, Tim, of another topic we explore a lot in crypto, which is the topic of money. We just sort of take for granted this social coordination technology that almost no one thinks about. And I feel the same way about liberalism. When you pause and you think about it, it reminds me of the book from Yval Harari,. Where he talks about humanity's great superpower is the shared myths that we propagate basically.

Society is off track. We all feel it. What’s wrong? How do we fix it without throwing out all the good parts? We brought on Tim Urban to help us answer these questions.

Tim Urban is a blogger, writer, and illustrator, who is best known for his blog "Wait But Why.” Started in 2013, “Wait But Why” covers various topics, from science and technology to social issues and human behavior. Tim recently wrote a book titled: “What's Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies,” which Ryan and David think offers a roadmap for the tribal crypto communities battling in the Web3 landscape.

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------ In today’s episode, Tim covers many questions, but the overarching ones are: 1) Power Games vs Liberal Games 2) The Importance of Liberalism to Crypto protocols 3) How to find out whether your crypto tribe is a low-rung echo chamber, or high-mind idea lab 4) Why we MUST solve this problem in order to survive as a society

And of course, we had to ask him if AI is going to come kill us all…? Tim’s answer puts things into perspective.

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------ TIMESTAMPS:

0:00 Intro 7:48 Why Are We Angry? 8:53 Defining Liberalism 17:09 Liberal vs. Power Games 29:45 Modernity, Liberalism, Institutions, & Norms 42:32 How Radical is Crypto? 46:29 Crypto and Tim’s Radical Levels Pyramid 51:05 Steelmanning the Liberalism Argument 1:03:31 Higher vs. Primitive Mind 1:13:51 How to Ascend the Ladder 1:19:50 Low Wrung Thinkers, Social Media, & Society 1:25:05 Tim’s Thoughts on AI 1:32:00 What Gives Tim Hope? 1:35:20 Closing & Disclaimers

------ RESOURCES:

Tim Urban https://twitter.com/waitbutwhy

Tim’s Blog https://waitbutwhy.com/

Tim’s New Book https://www.amazon.com/Whats-Our-Problem-Self-Help-Societies/dp/B0BVGH6T1Q

----- Not financial or tax advice. This channel is strictly educational and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell any assets or to make any financial decisions. This video is not tax advice. Talk to your accountant. Do your own research.

Disclosure. From time-to-time I may add links in this newsletter to products I use. I may receive commission if you make a purchase through one of these links. Additionally, the Bankless writers hold crypto assets. See our investment disclosures here: https://www.bankless.com/disclosures