Episode notes
Is Bitcoin Good? Debating a Nocoiner Economist
In this episode Saifedean invites back Professor Paul Frijters of the London School of Economics to debate whether bitcoin is a good form of money. Saifedean makes the case for money as a market phenomenon, and argues that bitcoin has the scarcity, divisibility, fungibility and transportability that humans have historically valued in monies. Paul presents his problems with bitcoin’s deflationary nature, and questions whether bitcoin mining is a zero-sum game, and whether the fact that people hold bitcoin really demonstrates its value. The debate moves on to discuss the desired role of government in society, how bitcoin affects it, and whether government force is legitimate.
Chapters:
0:00 Welcome to the Bitcoin Standard Podcast
2:06 A simple Introduction to Bitcoin
12:00 Paul Frijters Background
14:00 Is Bitcoin a means of exchange?
18:10 Why Bitcoin is the best store of value
28:35 Land is a good store of value
30:30 Who are Bitcoin miners?
40:00 Is Bitcoin stealing energy?
42:00 Bitcoins consensus rules
46:00 Evaluating the energy in Bitcoin
51:55 Bitcoin's mining transition
56:45 Money is a time trade
1:03:00 A cost benefit analysis
1:11:00 Innovation in the monetary sphere
1:14:00 Money is a means to an end
1:20:00 Living a happy life
1:24:00 Bitcoin increases people's saving habits
1:31:00 The different layers of Bitcoin
1:35:00 Is government force legitimate?
1:43:00 Austrian economics vs. empirical economics
1:50:00 Anarchism vs. governments force
2:01:00 Cholesterol and statins
Resources:
Nick Szabo’s article Shelling Out for an account of the historical emergence of money: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/shellin...
When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson:
https://ug1lib.org/book/5060458/6fc152
When Money Destroys Nations by Russell Lamberti and Philip Haslam: https://www.amazon.com/When-Money-Des...
The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard:
https://mises.org/library/ethics-liberty
The Great Cholesterol Con by Malcolm Kendrick:
https://ug1lib.org/book/3506823/e782cb
The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz, for further discussion of cholesterol:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surpri...
Paul’s article Why Blockchain has no economic future:
https://johnmenadue.com/paul-frijters...
Paul’s textbook A Handbook for Wellbeing Policy-Making: History, Theory, Measurement, Implementation, and Examples:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard: http://saifedean.com/thebitcoinstandard
Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard: http://saifedean.com/thefiatstandard
Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here:
https://saifedean.com/membership/
In this episode Saifedean invites back Professor Paul Frijters of the London School of Economics to debate whether bitcoin is a good form of money. Saifedean makes the case for money as a market phenomenon, and argues that bitcoin has the scarcity, divisibility, fungibility and transportability that humans have historically valued in monies. Paul presents his problems with bitcoin’s deflationary nature, and questions whether bitcoin mining is a zero-sum game, and whether the fact that people hold bitcoin really demonstrates its value. The debate moves on to discuss the desired role of government in society, how bitcoin affects it, and whether government force is legitimate.
Chapters:
0:00 Welcome to the Bitcoin Standard Podcast
2:06 A simple Introduction to Bitcoin
12:00 Paul Frijters Background
14:00 Is Bitcoin a means of exchange?
18:10 Why Bitcoin is the best store of value
28:35 Land is a good store of value
30:30 Who are Bitcoin miners?
40:00 Is Bitcoin stealing energy?
42:00 Bitcoins consensus rules
46:00 Evaluating the energy in Bitcoin
51:55 Bitcoin's mining transition
56:45 Money is a time trade
1:03:00 A cost benefit analysis
1:11:00 Innovation in the monetary sphere
1:14:00 Money is a means to an end
1:20:00 Living a happy life
1:24:00 Bitcoin increases people's saving habits
1:31:00 The different layers of Bitcoin
1:35:00 Is government force legitimate?
1:43:00 Austrian economics vs. empirical economics
1:50:00 Anarchism vs. governments force
2:01:00 Cholesterol and statins
Resources:
Nick Szabo’s article Shelling Out for an account of the historical emergence of money: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/shellin...
When Money Dies by Adam Fergusson:
https://ug1lib.org/book/5060458/6fc152
When Money Destroys Nations by Russell Lamberti and Philip Haslam: https://www.amazon.com/When-Money-Des...
The Ethics of Liberty by Murray Rothbard:
https://mises.org/library/ethics-liberty
The Great Cholesterol Con by Malcolm Kendrick:
https://ug1lib.org/book/3506823/e782cb
The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz, for further discussion of cholesterol:
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Surpri...
Paul’s article Why Blockchain has no economic future:
https://johnmenadue.com/paul-frijters...
Paul’s textbook A Handbook for Wellbeing Policy-Making: History, Theory, Measurement, Implementation, and Examples:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09...
Saifedean’s first book, The Bitcoin Standard: http://saifedean.com/thebitcoinstandard
Saifedean’s second book, The Fiat Standard: http://saifedean.com/thefiatstandard
Enjoyed this episode? You can take part in podcast seminars, access Saifedean’s courses and read chapters of his forthcoming books by becoming a Saifedean.com member. Find out more here:
https://saifedean.com/membership/
