Bitcoin Audible Read_919 - Frédéric Bastiat: The Unseen Role of Intermediaries
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Dec 7, 2025 Discover the essential role of intermediaries in the market and why they're not just profiteers. The discussion tackles whether society can benefit from intermediaries while stripping them of control. Explore technologies like Bitcoin and Nostr that facilitate this balance. Hear about the challenges of running your own node versus relying on centralized platforms for convenience. Learn how to protect data integrity and ensure users can exit systems without being trapped. It’s all about keeping the convenience without giving away ownership!
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Intermediaries Enable Society
- Intermediaries are essential to division of labor and enable society to function by connecting dispersed production and consumption.
- Bastiat argued markets beating state management because intermediaries solve dispersed knowledge and logistics problems.
Remove Control, Not Intermediaries
- Trying to eliminate intermediaries misunderstands their economic role and is impractical for complex societies.
- The goal should be removing intermediary control, not intermediaries themselves.
Design For Easy Exit
- Separate service functions from custodial control when designing networks and protocols.
- Build systems where switching providers is low-cost so intermediaries remain facilitators, not owners.
