Bob Murphy Show

Bob uses the illustrious Milton Friedman to demonstrate a depressing tendency among economists to overreact in their zeal to defend trade deficits, where they end up arguing that it's necessarily beneficial to live beyond one's means. Although this could be true in certain cases, it's not true in general. Bob then explains that the original mercantilists weren't as dumb as modern economists claim.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Twitter thread with Friedman clip (and some of Bob's response).Bob responding to a similar mistake by the WSJ editors.Bob Murphy Show episode on reparations and AI.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob uses comparative advantage to to argue that human workers will always find a place in the economy, regardless of how productive super-AI systems may become. He then addresses the fear that superAIs will simply rearrange our molecules for building material.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Part 1 of this series.Eliezer Yudkowski tweets on true threat of AI.Bob Murphy Show episode on reparations and AI.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob uses basic economics to argue that human workers will always find a place in the economy, regardless of how productive super-AI systems may become.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Bob Murphy Show episode on reparations and AI.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

For a chapter in Per Bylund's new collection, Bob explained the pure time preference theory (PTPT) of interest, and then offered suggestions for future work on an Austrian theory of interest. He summarizes his chapter in this episode.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Per Bylund's 2022 edited collection.Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 in the series on Capital & Interest in the Austrian tradition (BMS ep. 26 and 28 and 31).Bob’s doctoral dissertation, in which the second and third essays elaborate on the main elements of this episode.The Bob Murphy Show interview with Jeff Herbener.Bob's mises.org article summarizing Bohm-Bawerk's critique of the exploitation theory of interest (and in the article the are links early on to two other BB critiques).Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob elaborates on law enforcement in a voluntary society, and then offers commentary on Dave Smith's Twitter feuds regarding Open Borders.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Bob's previous discussion of voluntary law.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob first explains his long-held position on the economics of slavery and reparations, and then applies it to the debate over the danger of superintelligent machines.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Matt Walsh rips on Ryan McMaken and (indirectly) Murphy.Bob Murphy Show episodes on economics of slavery, with Jeffrey Rogers Hummel and Mark Thornton.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob officially describes his new role as Chief Economist with infineo. He first explains the mechanics of Whole Life insurance policies and their use as cash management vehicles. Then Bob summarizes the first infineo whitepaper, which explains the $SOUND token, a security token that represents a fractional claim on the aggregate cash value of a pool of Whole Life policies.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The infineo website.Bob's podcast with Cole Snell, FOUNDERS FORUM.Link to view infineo whitepaper 1.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Bob goes through a Sam Seder episode to explain how a voluntary society could provide a rule of law.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The Majority Report episode featuring ancap debate.Rohan Grey's response to Murphy MMT debate.BMS ep. 130 with Rohan Grey.Murphy pamphlet Chaos Theory and lecture on private law.Murphy essay, "But wouldn't warlords take over?"BMS ep. 260 on case of private owners mimicking State policies.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Daniel Miller is president of the Texas Nationalist Movement and author of TEXIT: Why and How Texas Will Leave the Union. Bob and Daniel have a lively discussion where they cover the realistic prospects for Texas independence, lessons from history, and dealing with typical objections.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:The YouTube version of this interview.The Texas Nationalist Movement website.Daniel Miller's book TEXIT: Why and How Texas Will Leave the Union.Bob's pamphlet on Texas independence.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.

Prompted by a conversation with someone who had been reading the Bible, Bob explains his views on the Sermon on the Mount and how a pacifist society could work. He then uses a Matt Walsh tweet, which calls on right-wingers to "treat them like they treat us," to explore the difficulties of living up to Jesus' commands.Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:Murphy vs. Matt Walsh.BMS ep. 19, Why Rothbardian Institutions Would Become Nonviolent.Help support the Bob Murphy Show.The audio production for this episode was provided by Podsworth Media.