"Econ 102" with Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg

Why Libertarianism Fragmented, How the Right Became Statist, and Culture Wars

19 snips

Jul 18, 2023

Dive into the fascinating fragmentation of the Libertarian movement and its shifting power dynamics influenced by technology and social media. Explore the decline of core economic principles and their implications on the American labor market. Discover the Republican Party’s transformation towards statist ideologies amid evolving cultural conflicts. Unpack the tensions between personal freedoms and progressive agendas, revealing the complex landscape of modern politics and the quest for a new movement advocating for reduced regulations.

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INSIGHT

Libertarianism's Economic Pillars

Three pillars of economic libertarianism were low taxes, free trade, and deregulation.
These seemingly failed in the 2000s, impacting the movement's popularity.

INSIGHT

Fracturing of Libertarianism

The libertarian movement fractured socially, with some becoming progressive and others aligning with the right wing.
This split, combined with economic setbacks, weakened the movement.

INSIGHT

State Capacity Libertarianism

Some intellectuals are trying to salvage libertarian economic ideas by focusing on state capacity libertarianism.
This approach seeks to update and modify these ideas for the modern world.

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In episode 2, Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg track the fracturing of the Libertarian movement, the culture wars, and which ideas deserve not to die.

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TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Episode preview

(12:54) Why did Libertarians lose?

(15:00) Free trade failure in the 2000s

(19:00) Libertarians jumping on the Trump train

(19:45) Evolution to state-capacity libertarian

(22:00) Culture wars vs. getting the economics right

(27:30) Effect of money on politics

(29:00) Urban fragmentation: San Francisco and New York

(30:30) Hot take: Gavin Newsom underrated

(37:00) How the right soured on the free markets and became became statist

(39:00) Can a 'reset' work

(40:20) Which ideas deserve not to die?

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LINKS MENTIONED:

Where Does Libertarianism Go From Here? https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/where-does-libertarianism-go-from

Tyler Cowen, State-Capacity Libertarianism https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2020/01/what-libertarianism-has-become-and-will-become-state-capacity-libertarianism.html

TWITTER:

@noahpinion (Noah)

@eriktorenberg (Erik)

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