Sign in to confirm you’re not a bot
This helps protect our community. Learn more

Bitcoin: A View From The Left with Ben Arc

Peter McCormack
191K subscribers
10K views 3 years ago The Peter McCormack Show
SHOW NOTES: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcas... In this interview, I talk to Ben Arc, an industrious Bitcoin and free open source software advocate. We discuss the attraction of Bitcoin to those on the left, Bitcoin as a commons for society, developing open source applications to take on big tech, and Marxism. THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORS: Gemini - https://www.gemini.com/ BlockFi - https://blockfi.com/peter Sportsbet.io - https://sportsbet.io/?ref=wbd Casa - https://keys.casa/?pk_campaign=wbd-ye... Ledger - https://www.ledger.com/ Compass Mining - https://compassmining.io/ BCB Group - https://hubs.ly/Q011cb730 LVL - https://www.lvl.co/wbd TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:51 Democracy 00:17:24 Separation of money & state 00:28:40 Production commons 00:36:12 "Not Amazon" 00:52:43 The socialist bitcoiner 01:00:03 NOSTR 01:07:44 Censorship, moderation, discourse 01:16:11 The problem with Marx WHERE TO FIND THE SHOW: → My website: https: …...more
...more
Bitcoin: A View From The Left with Ben Arc
433Likes
10,086Views
2022Jan 21
SHOW NOTES: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcas... In this interview, I talk to Ben Arc, an industrious Bitcoin and free open source software advocate. We discuss the attraction of Bitcoin to those on the left, Bitcoin as a commons for society, developing open source applications to take on big tech, and Marxism. THIS EPISODE’S SPONSORS: Gemini - https://www.gemini.com/ BlockFi - https://blockfi.com/peter Sportsbet.io - https://sportsbet.io/?ref=wbd Casa - https://keys.casa/?pk_campaign=wbd-ye... Ledger - https://www.ledger.com/ Compass Mining - https://compassmining.io/ BCB Group - https://hubs.ly/Q011cb730 LVL - https://www.lvl.co/wbd TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:10:51 Democracy 00:17:24 Separation of money & state 00:28:40 Production commons 00:36:12 "Not Amazon" 00:52:43 The socialist bitcoiner 01:00:03 NOSTR 01:07:44 Censorship, moderation, discourse 01:16:11 The problem with Marx WHERE TO FIND THE SHOW: → My website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/podcast/ → iTunes: https://apple.co/2OOlzVV → Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2ygc4W1 → Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2IQO8fX → SoundCloud: https://bit.ly/2CGSVQR → YouTube: https://bit.ly/3nyi9Ez → TuneIn: https://bit.ly/2ywystr LISTEN TO OLD EPISODES: → By guest: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/guests/ → By topic: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/topics/ → Transcriptions: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/transc... SUPPORT THE SHOW: → https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/sponso... → Become a Patron:   / whatbitcoindid   → Subscribe on iTunes → Leave a review on iTunes → Share the show out with your friends and family on social media → Drop me a line on hello@whatbitcoindid.com WHERE TO FOLLOW ME: → Twitter:   / whatbitcoindid   → Medium:   / whatbitcoindid   → Instagram:   / whatbitcoindid   → Facebook:   / whatbitcoindid   → YouTube:    / whatbitcoindidpodcast   → Website: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/ → Email list: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/subscr... LEARN ABOUT BITCOIN: → Step by Step Guide: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/beginn... → Training: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/training/ → Resources: https://www.whatbitcoindid.com/resour... **** “Bitcoin is a commons, a monetary commons… a shared resource which people can use and then it’s within their interests to keep that resource going and nurture that resource and help it to grow - and that’s what Bitcoin is; and if any private interests try to co-opt Bitcoin…then ‘Bitcoiners’ attack it.” — Ben Arc Location: London Date: Thursday 13th January Project: LNbits, NOSTR Role: Bitcoin and free open source software advocate What are the politics of Bitcoin? Satoshi in a post in 2008 said “It's very attractive to the libertarian viewpoint if we can explain it properly.” And, it certainly has garnered a strong libertarian following, principally because of its unique utility to undermine governments’ control of money. However, Bitcoiners are a broad church. The original cypherpunks philosophy was predicated on anarchist ideals, to work outside of government controls. This attitude is analogous to a wide variety of political philosophies, including those on the left who feel disenfranchised by the current global capitalist hegemony. There is a strong and growing group of left-leaning Bitcoiners, who see the protocol as a radical means of achieving a fairer society where the levers of power and organisation are controlled by a community rather than elites. This may trigger a powerful section in Bitcoin whose views are antithetical to those on the left. And yet, this broad range of communities with divergent dogmas have all enabled Bitcoin to develop its critical mass. This is because early adopters viewing Bitcoin as a philosophy, whatever that philosophy may be, has inspired ardent advocacy and robust hodling behaviour. It surely underlines the genius of Bitcoin’s protocol if those with seemingly divergent opinions can all lay claim to the benefits of the technology. Furthermore, history has shown that robust societies are ones where ideas are debated, tested, and then synthesized. If we can do this as a community we have a real opportunity to lay the foundations for a more open and fair society. In this interview, I talk to Ben Arc, an industrious Bitcoin and free open source software advocate. We discuss the attraction of Bitcoin to those on the left, Bitcoin as a commons for society, developing open source applications to take on big tech, and Marxism.
The Peter McCormack Show
Peter McCormack

Follow along using the transcript.

Peter McCormack

191K subscribers