The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie Billionaire Cliff Asness: Can Technology Outrun 'Stupider and Stupider' Government?
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May 9, 2025 
Cliff Asness, co-founder of AQR Capital Management and a pioneer in quantitative finance, critically discusses the impact of tariffs and trade under Trump’s administration. He expresses concerns about the authoritarianism of populist movements and highlights the inefficiencies capitalism faces from social media influence. Asness shares insights on his libertarian beliefs and the future of free markets amid regulatory challenges, emphasizing the need for vigilant oversight and a nuanced understanding of economic progress.
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Capitalism's Tech Triumph
- Capitalism has massively improved living standards globally, primarily due to technology driven by profit motives.
- However, government policies have generally worsened, posing a threat that technology has so far outpaced.
Markets Push Back on Tariffs
- The stock and bond markets pushed back strongly, forcing Trump to roll back proposed tariffs.
- Markets act as a real-time check on harmful economic policies by signaling danger.
Social Media Harms Markets Too
- Social media has made politics coarser, more extreme, and adversarial by distorting the wisdom of crowds.
- This distortion extends to financial markets, making them less efficient and more prone to bubbles.
