99: Tyranny of the Clock

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What if the real theft isn’t of your money, but of your time?

This episode was sparked by George Woodcock’s 1944 essay The Tyranny of the Clock. Woodcock, an economist, argued that the invention of the mechanical clock in 1657 fundamentally changed how humans related to time, making it possible to measure, schedule, and commodify life itself.

I trace that idea forward into the world of central banking, fiat money, and Bitcoin. From the Federal Reserve’s creation in 1913, to Nixon cutting gold from the dollar in 1971, to today’s endless money printing, the value of time has been systematically degraded. Bitcoin, with its fixed supply and transparent schedule, offers a way to break free of this trap and restore time as the most valuable asset we have.

You’ll Learn:

• Why Nixon’s 1971 move to cut gold from the dollar still shapes your daily costs
• What happens when central banks expand the money supply while time itself never changes
• The surprising link between the invention of the mechanical clock and the rise of industrial society
• Why fiat money makes every unit of your time worth less as you move through life
• How Bitcoin functions as a clock built on blocks, epochs, and difficulty adjustments
• The damage of high time preference and how it fuels disposable culture, food, and buildings
• Why storing your time in Bitcoin can flip urgency into long-term security
• The deeper connection between history, civilization cycles, and the future Bitcoin makes possible

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[09:00] The mechanical clock’s invention in 1657 and how it redefined time

[11:47] Factories, schools, and armies turning human life into scheduled labor

[14:32] Central banking, fixed time, and why money keeps losing value

[18:15] Bitcoin as a clock built on blocks, epochs, and difficulty adjustments

[21:57] High time preference and disposable culture in food, buildings, and media

[24:38] Low time preference and how Bitcoin lets you store time securely

[28:51] Civilization cycles, history, and Bitcoin as the next major shift

[31:42] Why Bitcoin is as significant as the printing press or the wheel

[34:12] How Block Rewards reshape saving, work, and the future of value

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Resources Mentioned:

The Tyranny of the Clock by George Woodcock | Essay

The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffin | Book

The Price of Tomorrow by Jeff Booth | Book or Audiobook

Bitcoin Is Time | Essay

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