Thinking Class cover image

Thinking Class

#068 - Lorenzo Warby - Why Economists' Predictions Go Wrong, The Roman Empire Fell, And Why You Should Never Give Bureaucrats Moral Projects

Mar 7, 2025
01:30:27

Lorenzo Warby writes the Substack Lorenzo from Oz and he contributes regularly to Helen Dale's Substack, Not on your team, but always fair. He needs little introduction to long time classmates because this is the third time he has appeared on the show. Check out the archives for the other two. 

In this episode, Lorenzo and I think out loud about why the term capitalism is misleading and why we should speak about living in a mercantile society instead, the many complexities of commerce and the cultural influences on economic growth, the prevalence of activism in the modern world and its impact on social capital, the implications of bureaucratic moral projects, the challenges of accountability within bureaucracies, the impact of migration policies on democratic processes, the historical context of the fall of empires, particularly the Roman Empire, why effective institutions are more valuable than empires, the importance of local governance and trade in fostering prosperity, and much, much more.

Enjoy the show, Classmates.

You can also check Lorenzo out on:

You can follow and subscribe to Thinking Class on:

You can watch the show on YouTube

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode