Bitcoin, Collapse of Fiat, Venice, The Sovereign Individual, Governance, Democracy, Lyn Alden, Broken Money, Mercantile Republic.
Timothy Allen talks with Allen Farrington.
The Bitcoiners amongst you will know Allen well. He’s the co-author of the book ‘Bitcoin is Venice’, a very well respected book about modern economic theories… both the good ones and the bad ones. The title of the book comes from one of the Allen's essays in which he connects the properties of Venice which lead to it becoming arguably the most successful cities of all time with the attributes of the monetary technology of Bitcoin.
As you may guess, Allen thinks that Bitcoin could be pivotal in helping to usher in a new age of governance and worldwide economic realities. We discuss Venice’s 1000+ year success story and its final demise along with his take on the sovereign individual thesis we see playing out in real life at the moment. Allen is somebody who uses the word 'Fiat' as an adjective, so we inevitably end up discussing the importance of letting go of the fiat monetary system in favour of a Bitcoin standard.
All in all this is a very interesting conversation at the intersection of Free Cities and Bitcoin. Many thanks to Allen for taking the time to drop in.
Enjoy the conversation.
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TIMESTAMPS
(0:30) Introduction.
(4:41) Allen's book "Bitcoin is Venice" & feedback from Tuur Demeester.
(7:56) Describe the content of your book 'Bitcoin is Venice'.
(13:57) A general overview of Venice and why it was so successful.
(20:17) Venice's governance model and its impact on political stability.
(26:58) Why don't we see governance models like Venice's today?
(31:07) Parallels between Bitcoin and Venice.
(33:40) The benefits of slow change in governance and economics.
(39:25) The power of culture in resisting political incentives.
(42:16) Comparing Vernice to The United Arab Emirates.
(49:01) The sovereign individual thesis and its implications for governance and technology.
(54:06) Bitcoin's role in creating healthy institutions and incentives.
(58:21) The role of Bitcoin and Fiat in the digital realm & Lynn Alden's thesis in 'Broken Money'.
(1:05:56) Are there any benefits to the fiat monetary system?
(1:10:51) How technology impacts money and commerce.
(1:13:56) Venice and fractional reserve banking.
(1:17:20) Why is money printing so rampant today?
(1:25:57) Historical parallels between Venice's decline and potential threats to Bitcoin.
(1:28:05) Bitcoin's potential inevitability and Farrington's personal attitude towards prepping.
(1:35:51) Preparing for economic collapse.
TWITTER:
Allen Farrington: https://x.com/allenf32
Timothy Allen:
Free Cities Podcast