Episode notes
In this episode, Saifedean talks to author and public intellectual Jordan Peterson about how bitcoin solves the problems of The Fiat Standard. Saifedean starts by introducing the Austrian School of Economics, its key concepts such as “opportunity cost”, and how it differs from alternative schools. Saifedean and Jordan then move on to a discussion of the civilizing impact of hard money, why bitcoin is different from other cryptocurrencies, and why bitcoin mining changes the dynamics of the global energy market. Finally, they discuss their experiences working in fiat academia and why online learning is making the traditional university obsolete.
________
0:18 Intro
2:34 What are hard monetary assets?
6:13 The argument for bitcoin being the best hard money ever created
9:11 "Bitcoin only has users... no admins. There is nobody with a master key" - Saifedean Ammous
10:36 How the Bitcoin network functions using "consensus parameters"
15:49 "The way that Bitcoin came about seems... virtually impossible to believe" - Jordan Peterson
18:27 Other schools of economics (Austrian) vs. the most common today (Keynesian)
20:46 "So the Austrian school of economics... tilts you more towards an appreciation of non-centrally controlled, distributed networks, and emphasis on the individual actor" - JP
23:25 Paul Samuelson and communist economic expectations of centralized planning post-WW2
25:27 Dr. Ammous' academic background
27:14 Climate change. The push towards central planning, implying certain people or groups know the exact consequences and solutions to future economic developments
29:41 "I've been struck by the problem of unintended consequences and the irreducible complexity of things. We can talk about the problem of climate change, but those words are incredibly deceiving" - JP
34:16 Highlighting the crucial role of the entrepreneur in Austrian economics
40:46 Saifedean reflects on the views held by the central bank, governments, and mainstream economists on money—as opposed to Bitcoin's structuring and the Austrian school of thought
41:43 "From the Austrian perspective, money is a product of the market and not the invention of the state. The state's meddling in money... is irrational and cannot succeed for the same reasons central planning does not succeed" - SA
45:50 Overview of Dr. Ammous' book The Fiat Standard
54:40 Current inflation in Western democracies. The devastating effect of hyperinflation on the average person
58:15 "Money is an incredible technology for lowering our time preference" - SA
58:59 "The 20th century was a global trainwreck of watching the money preference rise. Generation after generation... witnessed their money devalue" - SA
01:02:32 Why some efforts in energy production are misguided
01:06:39 The Fiat Standard
01:10:29 Why are we allowing people to mine bitcoin?
01:12:46 The genius that went into the production of the Bitcoin code
01:23:14 The crazy reality of decision-making at climate change panels
01:26:36 Fiat-based currency jobs and the Zoom warriors disconnected from the physical world
01:31:09 "A lot of the problems of the 20th century, in my opinion, have their roots in highly inflationary fiat currency" - SA
01:31:18 Covering some of the common objections against Bitcoin
01:39:45 "We are always going to find more reasons to print money" - SA
01:41:43 Ammous’ online learning platform
01:48:29 The growth of Saifedeen.com and the parameters attributed to its success
01:50:05 The possibility of decentralizing societal accreditation
01:50:21 "I've talked to seriously wise academics who know that there is almost zero financial knowledge in universities [today]... There is tremendous residual value, however, in the accreditation" - JP
01:56:18 Wrapping up
Principles of Economics by Carl Menger, the foundational text of the Austrian School of Economics:
https://mises.org/library/principles-...
Ludwig von Mises’ magnum opus Human Action:
https://mises.org/library/human-action-0
The Use of Knowledge in Society by F.A. Hayek for a discussion of economic calculation within an Austrian framework:
https://www.econlib.org/library/Essay...
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/
________
0:18 Intro
2:34 What are hard monetary assets?
6:13 The argument for bitcoin being the best hard money ever created
9:11 "Bitcoin only has users... no admins. There is nobody with a master key" - Saifedean Ammous
10:36 How the Bitcoin network functions using "consensus parameters"
15:49 "The way that Bitcoin came about seems... virtually impossible to believe" - Jordan Peterson
18:27 Other schools of economics (Austrian) vs. the most common today (Keynesian)
20:46 "So the Austrian school of economics... tilts you more towards an appreciation of non-centrally controlled, distributed networks, and emphasis on the individual actor" - JP
23:25 Paul Samuelson and communist economic expectations of centralized planning post-WW2
25:27 Dr. Ammous' academic background
27:14 Climate change. The push towards central planning, implying certain people or groups know the exact consequences and solutions to future economic developments
29:41 "I've been struck by the problem of unintended consequences and the irreducible complexity of things. We can talk about the problem of climate change, but those words are incredibly deceiving" - JP
34:16 Highlighting the crucial role of the entrepreneur in Austrian economics
40:46 Saifedean reflects on the views held by the central bank, governments, and mainstream economists on money—as opposed to Bitcoin's structuring and the Austrian school of thought
41:43 "From the Austrian perspective, money is a product of the market and not the invention of the state. The state's meddling in money... is irrational and cannot succeed for the same reasons central planning does not succeed" - SA
45:50 Overview of Dr. Ammous' book The Fiat Standard
54:40 Current inflation in Western democracies. The devastating effect of hyperinflation on the average person
58:15 "Money is an incredible technology for lowering our time preference" - SA
58:59 "The 20th century was a global trainwreck of watching the money preference rise. Generation after generation... witnessed their money devalue" - SA
01:02:32 Why some efforts in energy production are misguided
01:06:39 The Fiat Standard
01:10:29 Why are we allowing people to mine bitcoin?
01:12:46 The genius that went into the production of the Bitcoin code
01:23:14 The crazy reality of decision-making at climate change panels
01:26:36 Fiat-based currency jobs and the Zoom warriors disconnected from the physical world
01:31:09 "A lot of the problems of the 20th century, in my opinion, have their roots in highly inflationary fiat currency" - SA
01:31:18 Covering some of the common objections against Bitcoin
01:39:45 "We are always going to find more reasons to print money" - SA
01:41:43 Ammous’ online learning platform
01:48:29 The growth of Saifedeen.com and the parameters attributed to its success
01:50:05 The possibility of decentralizing societal accreditation
01:50:21 "I've talked to seriously wise academics who know that there is almost zero financial knowledge in universities [today]... There is tremendous residual value, however, in the accreditation" - JP
01:56:18 Wrapping up
Principles of Economics by Carl Menger, the foundational text of the Austrian School of Economics:
https://mises.org/library/principles-...
Ludwig von Mises’ magnum opus Human Action:
https://mises.org/library/human-action-0
The Use of Knowledge in Society by F.A. Hayek for a discussion of economic calculation within an Austrian framework:
https://www.econlib.org/library/Essay...
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/
