The Blockchain Socialist

For this interview I sat down with Hannes Gerhardt, professor of Human Geography at the University of West Georgia and author of a recent piece in ROAR Magazine titled, Blockchains: Building blocks for a postcapitalist future? . He has published on a wide range of political and economic issues and is currently working on a book exploring pathways to establishing non-capitalist forms of economic production.During the interview we talk about how his research interests in human geography and post-capitalism relates to blockchain, some of his ideas in his article in Roar about "re-valuing and de-fetishizing", and his advice for commons projects to avoid co-optation by capitalists.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

For this week's podcast I spoke to Akseli Virtanen (@econaut6), one of the founders of the Economic Space Agency (@ecospaceagency) (ECSA), an organization for exploring protocols for post-capitalist economic expression. Akseli previously founded the Robin Hood Cooperative Hedge Fund and has been referred as The Andy Warhol of Finance. During the interview we talk about how ECSA is  exploring the creation of post-capitalist economic media through the creation of a new "economic grammar", how the Left can co-opt financial jargon to imagine a post-capitalist future (like social derivatives), and the irony of using the work of Friedrich Hayek on economic calculation to show that capitalism sucks. If you're a leftist interested in the blockchain space, it's absolutely imperative that you keep up with the work of ECSA.Learn more about ECSAECSA WebsiteAkseli's blogEconomic GrammarEconomic Media Transcending Hayek and his digital disciples (article)Transcending Hayek and his digital disciples (podcast)New RenaissanceLearn more about Robin HoodDemocratizing the Power of FinanceFinancial Platforms for the FutureEquity, Options, Assemblage If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This is a teaser of the second episode of the patreon exclusive Q&A series where I talk about the question asked by JB on the differences between socialism based on markets versus planning and how blockchain can influence that conversation.  Get the full version on Patreon.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I spoke to Creston Davis, founder of the Global Center of Advanced Studies (@GCASCollege), the first cooperatively run college using their own ethereum-enabled token (called GCASY) that represents shares in the college that can be used for paying for tuition and other expenses. Many well-known academics are a part of GCAS, including Alain Badiou and they've hosted seminars from the likes of Noam Chomsky, Richard Wolff, and Chris Hedges.During the interview we talk about how a conversation with Slavoj Zizek motivated Creston to start the "modern day Frankfurt School" that doesn't require students to go into debt, what it's like to be a student at the school (they offer bachelors, masters, and PhD degrees), and how GCAS's progressive model can reproduce itself in other ways similar to how universities in the age of neoliberalism have socially reproduced themselves into the economy. SourcesGCAS College DublinGCAS LatinoaméricaGCAS Crypto HubGCAS E-SchoolIf you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I spoke with Stefen Deleveaux (@stefdelev), the president of the Caribbean  Blockchain Alliance (CBA). The CBA is an organization that advocates for the use of blockchain in Caribbean, educates developers , and collaborates with regulators to create regulatory frameworks in the region. One of the purposes of the organization is to help create a more coherent Caribbean alliance based on solidarity help protect the interests of the region.During the interview we spoke about the history of colonialism and imperialism in the Caribbean, how it has influenced the current situation (e.g., dependence on wealthy tourists, lack of industry, EU black lists, etc.), and how Stefen believes blockchain could be used to enable vast improvements in living conditions in the region for working people and public services.  We also discuss a bit about the Sand Dollar, which is the Central Bank Digital Currency that the Bahamian Central Bank recently released this year.Learn more about some of the ways how the US and Europe keep the Caribbean underdeveloped from one of the Caribbean's top economists here.Donate to support the CBA here:BTC:  1MSaYj6AaamEnYEdNmzbgQeszS1srdxHN​ETH:  0x72944A176997207740f7da5D3c1DFd938e9c772eYou can find official addresses at the the bottom of their site as well if you want to double check.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I interviewed Andrew Ancheta (@TrampAbroad1), a freelance journalist who previously wrote for crypto publications, but most recently wrote an article in the leftwing journal Current Affairs called The Crypto Casino.  It's a great article, and I don't say that just because I'm featured in it :). The article is in the currently most recent issue of Current Affairs (Issue 27, September-October 2020) so be sure to check it out. You can purchase the issue here.During the interview we talk about his experience in working in crypto media during the ICO boom, what it was like to now write an article about crypto from a leftist perspective, and how technical analysis is essentially horoscopes for people into charts. We're not all doom and gloom about the crypto space however and talk about some of the things that Andrew is most excited about, like DAOs.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I spoke with Morshed Mannan (@MannanMorshed), a PhD candidate at Leiden Law School in The Netherlands and  Research Fellow at the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy at The New School. His research interest in cooperatives and digital technologies eventually led him to blockchain and he's produced some really interesting research and seminars on its intersection.During the interview we discuss his previously published research about the differences between trust and confidence on the blockchain and link that to his work about cooperatives, we revisit two projects that were on the podcast previously (Eva Coop and Colony), and discuss how blockchain and coops have similar properties while also having a lot to learn from one another. At some point we also agree that cooperatives may be a good way to take entrepreneurship away from the right wing.Sources: Blockchain as a confidence machine: The problem of trust & challenges of governanceFostering Worker Cooperatives with Blockchain Technology: Lessons from the Colony ProjectEverything Old is New Again: Evaluating the Legal and Governance Structures of Shared-Services Platform Cooperatives (Unpublished but will be published here soon)TBS Interview with ColonyTBS Interview with Eva CoopIf you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I spoke to Michel Bauwens, the  founder  of the Foundation for Peer-to-Peer Alternatives and works in collaboration with a global group of researchers in the exploration of peer production, governance, and property and is known for his work on The Political Economy of Peer Production. Much of his work revolves around exploring peer production as an alternative to currently existing capitalism.For this interview we spoke mostly about his  recently published P2P ACCOUNTING FOR PLANETARY SURVIVAL report which focused on ways that DLT can be used to create alternative productive relations that promote planetary survival. I ask him about his frameworks for understanding technological designs and the different types of cooperatives which can help  create generative relations as opposed to extractive ones as well as why he thinks DLT and technologies like blockchain have particular properties that can help us fight against the destruction of the earth's natural environment.SourcesP2P Foundation WikiCommons TransitionIf you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

This week I spoke to Jonathan Beller,  a professor of Media Studies at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY with a forthcoming book “The World Computer: Derivative Conditions of Racial Capitalism.” He recently wrote “How We Short Capitalism – And Finance the Revolution” in CoinDesk. The article is really interesting in that it proposes we invest in "post-capitalist economic media" as a way to create alternatives to the one-dimensional expression of value in capitalism (financial value expressed in price) so that we can take power in the next inevitable recessions.During the interview we talk about his new book coming next year, the differences between the failed internet revolution and the crypto revolution, how our economic media makes it awkward for leftist creators,  and the work being done at the Economic Space Agency (ECSA), a think tank for exploring protocols for post-capitalist economic expression.SourcesHow We Short Capitalism – And Finance the RevolutionEconomic Media: Crypto and the Myth of Total LiquidityEconomic Space Agency (ECSA)If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the Newsletter, follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist), and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit to continue the discussion and give your thoughts.Support the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

For this week's episode I took a closer look at the company Blockchains LLC which bought the German startup Slock.it who was working on creating blockchain-enabled smart locks. Digging deeper I found out that Blockchains LLC is currently in the works of creating its own smart city "enabled by the blockchain" next to Reno, Nevada. We start by listening to a news segment aired on a local Reno new station about the company and the city being built  then connect that with he two recent MEL magazine stories by Andrew Fiouzi as well as the Housing for All Token article I recently published on the blog.At the end I also hope to adequately push back against the claims that I'm selling some sort of cryptocurrency. I don't give a shit if you buy cryptocurrency or not, that has nothing to do with this project. The point is to explore the ideas and the projects in the blockchain space to understand the flaws of the libertarian agenda that permeates it and show that it doesn't need to be that way because we can create anti-capitalist counter narratives that take the same technologies to serve the working class rather than for generating profit.SourcesBlockchains LLC news segmentBlockchains LLC blockchain city promoCurrent construction of the cityMEL Magazine: THE SOCIALISTS TRYING TO RECLAIM CRYPTOCURRENCYMEL Magazine: SMART LOCKS COULD MAKE IT EVEN EASIER FOR LANDLORDS TO EVICT THEIR TENANTSInterview with Mark AlizartInterview with Aleeza HowittHousing for All TokenIf you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you want to see more content like this, please consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. At the moment I’ve spent more on this 9-month old project than I’ve ever made so any amount helps. Also, sign up for the NewsletSupport the showICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking. The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.