Bitcoin and the Maximum Power Principle

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

The number of people I've met who've literally brought their life with them through Bitcoin, whether it's on a flash drive or by memorizing the seed phrase is pretty astonishing. So at least I think I think it can help. At worst it becomes it worst it's a tool that's helpful. You know, so we'll see. Wearing my systems ecology had I have to think about this more but it does almost seem like Bitcoin could be one of the other cans to kick in service of the maximum power principle. And it will be good for those humans that adopt it but may not be good for the ultimate ecological overshoot. But I'm going to withhold my opinion on that

On this episode, Alex Gladstein of the Human Rights Foundation joins Nate to unpack how monetary policy and debt have increasingly extended the reach of colonial powers over recent decades and how bitcoin offers an alternative to the many people who are under this financial exclusion. How have the IMF and World Bank upheld the power of reserve currency countries in the Global North to exploit and extract resources and labor from the Global South under the guise of aid and development? What is the origin of the ‘petrodollar’ and how has it shaped geopolitical relationships since its creation? What exactly is Bitcoin and how does it provide economic and political freedom? Is Bitcoin compatible with a low energy future?

About Alex Gladstein:

Alex Gladstein is Chief Strategy Officer at the Human Rights Foundation. He has also served as Vice President of Strategy for the Oslo Freedom Forum since its inception in 2009. In his work, Alex has connected hundreds of dissidents and civil society groups with business leaders, technologists, journalists, philanthropists, policymakers, and artists to promote free and open societies. He serves as faculty at Singularity University and as an advisor to Blockchain Capital, a leading venture firm in the fintech industry. He frequently speaks and writes about why Bitcoin matters for freedom, and is the author of Check Your Financial Privilege. His new book, Hidden Repression: How the IMF and World Bank Market Exploitation as Development was just published in May 2023.

For Show Notes and More visit: http://thegreatsimplification.com/episode/72-alex-gladstein

To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/u84tyIokAY8