Bob Murphy Show Ep. 464 Parsing Curtis Yarvin's Rendition of Misesian Monetary Theory
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Nov 15, 2025 Steve Patterson, a commentator well-versed in math and economic theory, joins to dissect Curtis Yarvin's take on Misesian monetary thought. They dive into the limitations of GDP as a cultural wellbeing measure and unravel Yarvin's computing project, Urbit. The duo scrutinizes Mises’ views on inflation and banking fragility, while debating whether banking practices are fraudulent or entrepreneurial. Discussions on Bitcoin's inflexible narrative and the risks of custodial wallets highlight how economic theories shape modern monetary dynamics.
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Paradoxes Expose Math's Intuition Gap
- Mathematical paradoxes (Hilbert's Hotel, Gabriel's Horn, Banach-Tarski) reveal tensions between intuition and formal infinity-based math.
- Steve Patterson warns these paradoxes are counterintuitive but accepted within orthodox mathematics.
GDP Is A Limited Lens On Society
- Curtis Yarvin argues modern macroeconomics centers on government-era stats like GDP and misses cultural quality.
- He elevates Ludwig von Mises as the precise thinker who offers a better foundation than Hayek.
Maturity Mismatch Drives The Austrian Cycle
- Yarvin and Bob Murphy emphasize Mises' focus on maturity mismatch over simple money printing as the heart of boom-bust theory.
- Fractional-reserve banking creates fiduciary media and distorted interest signals leading to malinvestment.
