The Blockchain Socialist

In this episode I spoke to Geert Lovink, a Dutch media theorist and founder of the Institute of Network Cultures who has been engaged with internet culture since at least the 80s. We were recently together in Cyprus for the latest installment of MoneyLab,  which he also co-founded. Talking with him was a great way to gain more understanding and context of venture capital's control of the internet and the influence of that on social movements and alternative economies. During the interview we discussed his experience and history of the growth of the internet, the rise of crypto, and tactical media as a strategy for the left. One of the things that we noted was that the question of how the left needs to build its own autonomous infrastructure was one already being explored in the 90s by activists.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit and Discord to join the discussion.Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime. 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.

Brett Scott, defender of physical cash, discusses the contradictions of libertarian money fantasies, how the monetary system works, and his recent writing on crypto titled Zero is the Future of Money. They explore engaging with right-wing thinkers, contradictions within the crypto world, and idealistic beliefs. The chapter also delves into the role of retail banks in money creation and economic activity, and the concept of counter trade in the crypto world.

In this episode we spoke to Wassim Alsindi, founder of MIT's blockchain journal and the 0xSalon  research collective based in Trust in Berlin. During the discussion we spoke about the concepts explored in his pieces Prophet Motives & Knightwork States and Necroprimitivism Rising. Wassim makes interesting connections between, the Crusades, the zero-sum mentality of network states, and capitalism's capturing of time.Check out a previous episode to learn more about our framework for out network state alternative,  coordi-nations.JOIN THE BLOCKCHAINGOV DISCORD SERVER HERE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTINUED OVERTHROW AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE RISE OF COORDI-NATIONS.Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS) is a series in collaboration with Blockchaingov where we critique The Network State  by Balaji Srinivasan while also pulling out the salvageable parts and concepts in discussion with a variety of guests. You can find the first episode of OTNS where we give our initial criticisms and  alternatives here.Blockchaingov is a 5-year long, transdisciplinary research effort aimed at restoring trust in institutions at the community and global levels, by promoting better on chain and off chain distributed governance practices. Throughout the series, each discussion will include me and a member of Blockchaingov with either a new guest each episode or a discussion between us to tackle various topics from the book.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit and Discord to join the discussion.Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime. 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.

Zachary Marlow, host of the Moneyless Society Podcast, joins the discussion to explore post-capitalism, crypto, and money. They delve into the relationship between blockchain and socialism, the potential for self-organizing systems and distributed governance in crypto, and the need for an alternative monetary system. They also discuss the concept of post-capitalism, the journey of living without money, and the need to challenge the social relationships shaped by capital, money, and commodities. Lastly, they express their desire to build a global village of communities and cooperatives and provide support for post-capitalist movements.

Monty Merlin Bryant, co-founder of ReFi DAO and environmentalist, discusses the transition of ReFi DAO to a coordination and the potential of using crypto for aligning people and planet. They explore regenerative finance, alternatives to the network state, and the importance of building strong local communities. They also discuss the potential of technology for positive impact and building self-sustainable ReFi solutions within local nodes.

In this episode we spoke to co-founder of DAO Stack now working on Common, Matan Field who joined us at Zuzalu. During the discussion we talk about the need for scaling collective action, using fractal organization, and moving beyond economically based interdependence. Check out a previous episode to learn more about our framework for out network state alternative,  coordi-nations.JOIN THE BLOCKCHAINGOV DISCORD SERVER HERE IF YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTINUED OVERTHROW AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE RISE OF COORDI-NATIONS.Overthrowing the Network State (OTNS) is a series in collaboration with Blockchaingov where we critique The Network State  by Balaji Srinivasan while also pulling out the salvageable parts and concepts in discussion with a variety of guests. You can find the first episode of OTNS where we give our initial criticisms and  alternatives here.Blockchaingov is a 5-year long, transdisciplinary research effort aimed at restoring trust in institutions at the community and global levels, by promoting better on chain and off chain distributed governance practices. Throughout the series, each discussion will include me and a member of Blockchaingov with either a new guest each episode or a discussion between us to tackle various topics from the book.If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit and Discord to join the discussion.Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime. 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.

In this episode I spoke with Scott Moore, the co-founder of Gitcoin and Public Works. Scott was one of the pioneers in public goods funding through quadratic funding and DAOs.During the discussion we talk about the "everything is coordination" meme, his advice for starting a DAO, and open source development. We also talk about our differences in views on the role of venture capital in crypto and avoiding the issues with the status quo for more collective forms of investment.Venture Mutualism: https://www.publicworks.fm/mutualismMusic (Düne Düne by Acid Arab): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vC29TpGFgtEIf you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Socials Twitter Mastodon FarcasterBluesky r/CryptoLeftists Discord Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime. 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.

Guest Nick Srnicek, author of 'Platform Capitalism' and 'Inventing the Future', discusses left accelerationism, the trend of crypto enthusiasts identifying as accelerationists, and the fight for freedom from work. They also touch on their latest book about the history of the home and the fight for free time.

Lawrence Lessig, legal scholar known for coining the term 'code is law', discusses the original design of the internet and its implications for democracy. The podcast explores the intersection between law and technology, the role of blockchain in changing governance, the fragmentation of the political system, challenges of sovereignty in networked communities, and the concept of 'code is law' in blockchain and cryptocurrency.

In this episode I spoke to David Z Morris, Chief Insights columnist at Coindesk who wrote a really nice book review of Block Radicals and creator of the Crypto Crooks podcast. David's been following the crypto space since near the beginning when he reported on the gold bug community's interest in bitcoin a decade ago. He is also the author of a book called Bitcoin is Magic.During the discussion we talk about how the crypto space has evolved with the rise of venture capital, the insanity of the last crypto bubble, and socialist finance. One of the main things we conclude is that most of these big finance and VC think boi influencers are not nearly as smart as people think. In fact, if you're a listener of the podcast, you're probably smarter than them and less detached from reality.Big thank you to Dallas Taylor for helping edit this episode!If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@theblockchainsocialist@social.coop) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit and Discord to join the discussion.Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime. 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.