The fact that the market is not doing what we wish it would do is no reason to automatically assume that the government would do better.

- Thomas Sowell


The media's ignorance of the Triffin dilemma reflects their entrenched Keynesian bias and institutional reluctance to acknowledge fundamental flaws in the fiat currency system that benefits establishment powers.


Michael Matulef

Know Thyself | Everything Voluntary✌ | Follow the Tao


THE CONSENSUS CONUNDRUM

Bitcoin faces a one-of-a-kind leadership problem

By nostr:nprofile1qqs976gg9npqm0wjtveqavxru70nha4peyhxqc35f88nyf9slgg7m2gpr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctv9u4s2sqj

—

A lot of consensus-change proposals for bitcoin are on the table at the moment. All of them have good motivations, whether it's scaling UTXO ownership or making self-custody more tractable. I won’t rehash them here, you’re probably already familiar. Some have been actively developed for years.

The past two such changes that have been made to bitcoin successfully, Segwit and Taproot, were massive engine-lift-style deployments fraught with drama. There have been smaller changes in bitcoin’s past, like the introduction of locktimes, but for some reason the last two have been kitchen sink affairs.

The reality not often talked about by many bitcoin engineers is that up until Taproot, bitcoin’s consensus development was more or less operating under a benevolent dictatorship model. Project leadership went from Satoshi to Gavin to… well, I’ll stop naming names.

Core developers will likely quibble with this characterization, but we all know deep down that to a first order approximation that it’s basically true. The “final say” and big ideas were implicitly signed off on by one guy, or maybe a small oligarchy of wizened autists.

In many ways there’s really nothing wrong with this - most (all?) major opensource projects operate similarly with pretty clear leadership structures. Oftentimes they have benevolent dictators who just “make the call” in times of high-dimensional ambiguity. Everyone knows Guido and Linus and the based Christian sqlite guy.

Bitcoin is aesthetically loathe to this but the reality, whether we like it or not, is that this is how it worked up until about 2021.

Given that, there are three factors that create the CONSENSUS CONUNDRUM facing bitcoin right now:

(1) The old benevolent dictators (or high-caste oligarchy) have abdicated their power, leaving a vacuum that shifts the project from “conventional mode of operation” to “novel, never-before-tried” mode: an attempt at some kind of supposedly meritocratic leaderlessness.

This change is coupled with the fact that

(2) the possible design space for improvements and things to care about in bitcoin is wide open at this point. Do you want vaults? Or more L2s? What about rollups? Or how about a generic computational tool like CAT? Or should we bundle the generic things with applications (CTV + VAULT) to make sure they really work?

The problem is that all of these are valid opinions. They all have merit, both in terms of what to focus on and how to get to the end goal. There really isn’t a clear “correct” design pattern.

(3) A final factor that makes this situation poisonous is that faithfully pursuing, fleshing out, building, “doing the work” of presenting a proposal IS REALLY REALLY TIME CONSUMPTIVE AND MIND MELTING.

Getting the demos, specs, implementation, and "marketing" material together is a long grind that takes years of experience with Core to even approach.

I was well paid to do this fulltime for years, and the process left me with disgusted with the dysfunction and having very little desire to continue contribution. I think this is a common feeling.

A related myth is that businesses will do something analogous to aid the process. The idea that businesses will build on prospective forks is pretty laughable. Most bitcoin companies have a ton on their backlog, are fighting for survival, and have basically no one dedicated to R&D. The have a hard enough time integrating features that actually make it in.

Many of the ones who do have the budget for R&D are shitcoin factories that don’t care about bitcoin-specific upgrades.

I’ve worked for some of the rare companies that care about bitcoin and do have the money for this kind of R&D, and even then the resources are not sufficient to build a serious product demo on top of 1 of N speculative softforks that may never happen.

---

This kind of situation is why human systems evolve leadership hierarchies. In general, to progress in a situation like this someone needs to be in a position to say “alright, after due consideration we’re doing X.”

Of course what makes this seem intractable is that the Bitcoin mythology dictates (rightly) that clear leadership hierarchies are how you wind up, in the limit, with the Fed.

Sure, bitcoin can just never change again in any meaningful way ("ossify"). But at this point that almost certainly resigns it to yet another financial product that can only be accessed with the benefit of a large institution.

If you grant that bitcoin should probably keep tightening its rules for more and better functionality, but that we should go "slow and steady," I think there are issues with that too.

Because another factor that isn’t talked about is that as bitcoin rises in price, and as nation-states start buying in size, the rules will be harder to change. So inaction — not deciding — is actually a very consequential decision.

I do not know how this resolves.

—

There’s another uncomfortable subject I want to touch on: where the power actually lies.

The current mechanism for changing bitcoin hinges on what Core developers will merge. This of course isn’t official policy, but it’s the unintended reality.

Other less technically savvy actors (like miners and exchanges) have to pick some indicator to pay attention to that tells them what changes are safe and when they are coming. They have little ability or interest to size these things up for themselves, or do the development necessary to figure them out.

My Core colleagues will bristle at this characterization. They’ll say “we’re just janitors! we just merge what has consensus!” And they’re not being disingenuous in saying that. But they’re also not acknowledging that historically, that is how consensus changes have operated.

This is something that everyone knows semi-consciously but doesn’t really want to own.

Core devs saying “yes” and clicking merge has been a necessary precursor every time. And right now none of the Core devs are paying attention to the soft fork conversations - sort of understandable, there’s a bunch to do in bitcoin.

But let’s be honest here, a lot of the work happening in Core has been sort of secondary to bitcoin’s realization.

Mempool work is interesting, but the whole model is more or less upside down anyway because it’s based on altruism. For-profit darkpools and accelerators seem inevitable to me, although that could be argued. Much of the mempool work is rooted in support for Lightning, which is pretty obviously not going to solve the scaling problem.

Sure, encrypted P2P connections are great, but what’s even the point if we can’t get on-chain ownership to a level beyond essentially requiring the use of an exchange, ecash mint, sidechain, or some other trusted third party?

My main complaint is that Core has developed an ivory tower mindset that more or less sneers at people piatching long-run consensus stuff instead of trying to actually engage with the hard problems.

And that could have bitcoin fall short of its potential.

—

I don’t know what the solution to any of this is. I do know that self-custody is totally nervewracking and basically out of the question for casual users, and I do know that bitcoin in its current form will not scale to twice-monthly volume for even 10% of the US, let alone most of the world.

The people who don’t acknowledge this, and who want to spend critical time and energy wallowing in the mire of proposing the perfect remix of CTV, are making a fateful choice.

Most of the longstanding, fully specified fork proposals active today are totally fine, and conceptually they’d be great additions to bitcoin.

Hell, probably a higher block size is safe given features like compactblocks and assumeutxo and eventually utreexo. But that’s another post for another day.

---

I've gone back and forth about writing a post like this, because I don't have any concrete prescriptions or recommendations. I guess I can only hope that bringing up these uncomfortable observations is some distant precursor to making progress on scaling self-custody.

All of these opinions have probably been expressed by @JeremyRubin years ago in his blog. I’m just tired of biting my tongue.

Thanks to nostr:nprofile1qqsdnpcgf3yrjz3fpawj5drq8tny74gn0kd54l7wmrqw4cpsav3z5fgpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ejxzmt4wvhxjmcprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctvl3x2lg and nostr:nprofile1qqsph0g2tcj80mm676qwtegey77gdu682vt7v067aq792spvdvv23gspzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtc5a5hjp for feedback on drafts of this.

https://x.com/jamesob/status/1857049961235403101


The one part of life that puts everything into perspective.


Bitcoin consensus is dictated by the economic actors actually using it. If Bitcoin becomes a simple financialized asset dominated by the legacy institutions and actors that it was built to free us from, then proportionally to their level of use they decide consensus.

nostr:nprofile1qqsrwseygwgtu5688flrkwudqnwws0mvj52tsx5e07emzg7qwthe77qpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef00wfgm8

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/takes/the-trump-pump-a-road-to-capture-and-failure


The Federal Reserve Exposed

https://fountain.fm/episode/CwWRdVV7kwpeVHGi78EH


Didn’t get lucky, studied Austrian economics. nostr:note1v20fah6tvk7jp3f2mj8fdya9wvxjjznuq59u54pvruvz23fenv0q4mn9qy


Each person has a general time-horizon, stretching from the present into the future, for which he plans various types of action. Whereas period of production and duration of serviceableness refer to specific consumers’ goods and differ with each consumers’ good, the period of provision (the time-horizon) is the length of future time for which each actor plans to satisfy his wants. The period of provision, therefore, includes planned action for a considerable variety of consumers’ goods, each with its own period of production and duration. This period of provision differs from actor to actor in accordance with his choice. Some people live from day to day, taking no heed of later periods of time; others plan not only for the duration of their own lives, but for their children as well.

- Murray Rothbard


A fundamental and constant truth about human action is that man prefers his end to be achieved in the shortest possible time. Given the specific satisfaction, the sooner it arrives, the better. This results from the fact that time is always scarce, and a means to be economized. The sooner any end is attained, the better. Thus, with any given end to be attained, the shorter the period of action, i.e., production, the more preferable for the actor. This is the universal fact of time preference. At any point of time, and for any action, the actor most prefers to have his end attained in the immediate present. Next best for him is the immediate future, and the further in the future the attainment of the end appears to be, the less preferable it is. The less waiting time, the more preferable it is for him

- Murray Rothbard


Can Interest Rates Fall to Zero on the Free Market?

nostr:nprofile1qqsyx708d0a8d2qt3ku75avjz8vshvlx0v3q97ygpnz0tllzqegxrtgpr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctv9usy2c9y

https://fountain.fm/episode/aFFxavMqC9LLvzHJZGIi


CD143: BITCOIN CONSENSUS ANALYSIS WITH STEVE LEE AND LYN ALDEN

-  nostr:npub1ug8c5wp6chs4xessrstq3mj0x0agkttey5xwk26632a2gw22de7qkfd9ry
-  nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a

https://cdn.satellite.earth/4ec4f61c0bb2a3b20ea05890b278b2274067b99d9cf704468f1b00e8167e0bea.mp4


How Trump Will Serve The CBDC Agenda with nostr:nprofile1qqsy86rlt3pvtvfuryalrehjjaqv4g2recqj9zhyh49svf2gx3vqe2spzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtcmrm0a9 & Mark Goodwin

nostr:nprofile1qqsgt0d4sa0pz0wvn9yck36xxezf3qhwzksu0q254vruqed5wvuavuspzfmhxue69uhhqatjwpkx2urpvuhx2ucpzfmhxue69uhky6t5wd6xzcmt9eshquqpr9mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumtfde5kymmvwshxjmnxdu4ryj8q
nostr:nprofile1qqsywt6ypu57lxtwj2scdwxnyrl3sry9typcstje65x7rw9a2e5nq8sprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuumwdae8gtnnda3kjctvqydhwumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnzd96xxmmfdecxzunt9e3k7mgpp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mq9hxafw

https://fountain.fm/episode/n2Rb90acjg2KUvKRwaVS


The distinguishing characteristic of human beings is that all humans act. Action is purposeful behavior directed toward the attainment of ends in some future period which will involve the fulfillment of wants otherwise remaining unsatisfied. Action involves the expectation of a less imperfectly satisfied state as a result of the action. The individual actor chooses to employ elements in his environment as means to the expected achievement of his ends, economizing them by directing them toward his most valued ends (leaving his least valued ones unsatisfied), and in the ways that his reason tells him are most appropriate to attain these ends. His method—his chosen means—may or may not turn out to be inappropriate.

- Murray Rothbard


All human life must take place in time. Human reason cannot even conceive of an existence or of action that does not take place through time. At a time when a human being decides to act in order to attain an end, his goal, or end, can be finally and completely attained only at some point in the future. If the desired ends could all be attained instantaneously in the present, then man’s ends would all be attained and there would be no reason for him to act; and we have seen that action is necessary to the nature of man. Therefore, an actor chooses means from his environment, in accordance with his ideas, to arrive at an expected end, completely attainable only at some point in the future. For any given action, we can distinguish among three periods of time involved: the period before the action, the time absorbed by the action, and the period after the action has been completed. All action aims at rendering conditions at some time in the future more satisfactory for the actor than they would have been without the intervention of the action.

A man’s time is always scarce. He is not immortal; his time on earth is limited. Each day of his life has only 24 hours in which he can attain his ends. Furthermore, all actions must take place through time. Therefore time is a means that man must use to arrive at his ends. It is a means that is omnipresent in all human action.

- Murray Rothbard


Prioritize yourself first, then focus on family and friends, and afterward, your local community. True, lasting change begins at the smallest level—your individual self—before it can extend to a larger scale.


In order to institute action, it is not sufficient that the individual man have unachieved ends that he would like to fulfill. He must also expect that certain modes of behavior will enable him to attain his ends. A man may have a desire for sunshine, but if he realizes that he can do nothing to achieve it, he does not act on this desire. He must have certain ideas about how to achieve his ends. Action thus consists of the behavior of individuals directed towards ends in ways that they believe will accomplish their purpose. Action requires an image of a desired end and “technological ideas” or plans on how to arrive at this end.

- Murray Rothbard


The first truth to be discovered about human action is that it can be undertaken only by individual "actors." Only individuals have ends and can act to attain them. There are no such things as ends of or actions by "groups," "collectives," or "States," which do not take place as actions by various specific individuals. "Societies" or "groups" have no independent existence aside from the actions of their individual members.

- Murray Rothbard


The struggle for freedom is ultimately not resistance to autocrats or oligarchs but resistance to the despotism of public opinion.

- Mises


It's Rothbard's magnum opus.

https://mises.org/library/book/man-economy-and-state-power-and-market


Man, Economy, and State


It's November 10th now. There's a circulatory system walking through the kitchen...


Roman Sterlingov, the alleged operator of the Bitcoin mixer Bitcoin Fog, has just been sentenced to 12.5 years in prison.

The government is now seizing the little Bitcoin he has left (hint hint that's how your strategic bitcoin reserve gets built), while the Billions of Dollars he allegedly made operating Bitcoin Fog continue to remain unaccounted for.

Here's a primer on the wild story of his prosecution and why it shook the chain analysis space – full story coming when more info on the sentencing is available.

https://m.primal.net/LxGX.png
https://www.therage.co/bitcoin-fog-sentencing/


After Victory, Trump Faces the Big Economic Problems

https://fountain.fm/episode/dlOaZrDebHtQG3YPwZZL


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/XCJzob9JrOr5AHfima0d

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzp0ypxxjvruz74c44ss2nejfam2nakd9402jaqvuks2fr59ev5tt6stcj89


GM ☕

Remember to count your blessings each day.


Attention Milwaukee Bitcoiners! Next Tuesday November 12th, nostr:nprofile1qqsy6q3ua80awknlxp6m368qssqghct6ra6scca4meepumhcswkuwegpg3mhxw309a4nversvd5k7emcx3nxzcnwd9cxkafkwakxxef5wf48vvmxve4xsa3kva3h2mnyvdu8v7rwxecx7et3xf5xxm3nd9jzummwd9hkutcpg4mhxue69uhkkdnywp3kjmm80q6xvctzde5hq6m4xemkccm9x3ex5a3nvenx56rkxenkxatwv33hsancdcm8qmm9wyexscmwxd5kgtn0de5k7m30qythwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnwdahkuetn9e3k7mf09qk0cg will be in town giving a presentation on Home Mining for Plebs. The event will take place from 6:30-10PM at Enlightened Brewery, 2020 S Allis St, Milwaukee, WI 53207

Event space and bartender are donated so please buy drinks and tip well.

https://image.nostr.build/a02d5d340816b86c9a81c77ef6fee99f1926d4110d15cc9837ff39a8c720313a.jpg


The Menace of the State

https://mises.org/power-market/menace-state

https://fountain.fm/episode/swF9LFtlQjyKOtvWeW1F


A reminder https://video.nostr.build/ce61d043bdb158e8eadf88320971bde22635f1c5e04cd7b4651683703362eca8.mp4


Bitcoin Audible Read_852 - Nature's Many Attempts to Evolve a Nostr

nostr:nprofile1qqstnem9g6aqv3tw6vqaneftcj06frns56lj9q470gdww228vysz8hqpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgqg6waehxw309ahx7um5wghx7unpdenk2urfd3kzuer9wcq3wamnwvaz7tmjv4kxz7fwvd6hyun9de6zuenedyvu6425

https://fountain.fm/episode/Ij1ztxQFy72HatWSVrlq


Some believe it is only [state] power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

nostr:nevent1qqs8mf58pl0fk5nxsuly9nffygsguz393ewhgpx8v7583kj2zwq0e7gpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef0qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpmf6srw


Unpacking Mises: Fractional Reserve Banking and the Currency School

https://fountain.fm/episode/95HzVG3SJbuvskQ2CSsJ


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/Ix1BTcbU9xHWS5qvC4ko

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzq7sypajsns6dj5nhk8n435aupfmqj8ku5x83mxrxxxmz48xn205du2gpkv


Private keys are too difficult for the human.

The average house user does not want to deal with the responsibility of looking after their house keys.

Gg, it’s been a good ride folks.


What stands in the way is the Way


🚀 BR086 - Electrum, Wasabi, Bitkey, Bitcoin Safe, Spark, Bitcoin Keeper, OP_CAT Privacy, FROST X nostr, btcd FindAndDelete bug + MORE ft. nostr:npub1mxrssnzg8y9zjr6a9g6xqwhxfa23xlvmftluakxqatsrp6ez9gjssu0htc  , nostr:npub1u8lnhlw5usp3t9vmpz60ejpyt649z33hu82wc2hpv6m5xdqmuxhs46turz  & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/Zb0kBnQPL1rvZr3lYHPs
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4OLSLgCD0RqcRZM8h58xsC
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/1da6f64d-ae81-4b79-82c6-bf27578599bf/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br086---electrum-wasabi-bitkey-bitcoin-safe-spark-bitcoin-keeper-op_cat-privacy-frost-x-nostr-btcd-findanddelete-bug-more-ft-rijndael-ben
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br086-electrum-wasabi-bitkey-bitcoin-safe-spark-bitcoin/id1632017958?i=1000675259375
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/8-pfw6xLgVo

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-86/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br086-electrum-wasabi-bitkey-bitcoin

Lightspark is shaking up the #Bitcoin scaling game, announcing a new Bitcoin L2 with non-custodial, trust-minimized interactions.

Could we see more corporate interest in developing scaling solutions in the near future? 🛠⚡👇
https://m.primal.net/Lobp.mov


What Will You Do When Kamala (or Trump) Wins?

https://fountain.fm/episode/HbFSOMFv9wmEriSvIxV5


One was left wondering at the true magic of that Halloween — namely, at the transforming effect of something as simple as the opportunity for free exchange, for the chance to derive mutual benefit from the difference in tastes between individuals.

In this, at least, Halloween was all about treats, and, despite what the opponents of the exchange economy will tell you, there was no trick about it anywhere you looked.

https://mises.org/mises-daily/halloween-and-its-candy-economy


🚀 BR085: Nostr Rising 08 - Nostr Funding ft. nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a , nostr:npub18lzls4f6h46n43revlzvg6x06z8geww7uudhncfdttdtypduqnfsagugm3 , nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/ONVQYV4ruygnt3gaB7IL
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Of0k4JDoZdJjWeW9l7zjg
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/576f68b2-e395-4e38-8b71-e05d277d145b/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br085-nostr-rising-08---nostr-funding-ft-lyn-alden-max-odell
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br085-nostr-rising-08-nostr-funding-ft-lyn-alden-max-odell/id1632017958?i=1000675096456
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/W-nhkKOS09E

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-85/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br085-nostr-rising-08-nostr-funding

Lyn gives her optimistic take on nostr funding, and cautions us to be patient, as the ecosystem is still in the discovery stage when it comes to monetization. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LnNl.mov


The most surreal aspect is that an overwhelming majority of people are voluntarist in their daily lives already. So the idea of it should not be shocking or hard to grasp, yet their world turns upside down when it comes to the fundamental coercion of the state.

Within the Bitcoin space the Matrix movie metaphor is often invoked regarding fiat money. But a more appropriate use of the metaphor in my opinion is statism.

"You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."


In my experience, discussing the dangers of statism with "normies" often feels futile. No amount of rational argument or logic will persuade someone who isn’t willing to question their deep-seated beliefs, especially when they see the state as equivalent to society and essential for social order.

Your point about description versus prescription is insightful. It makes sense that they would interpret your description as a prescription, or even as an attempt to assert authority, because it presents a reality that challenges their own. If they're unwilling to examine such a foundational assumption, it’s no wonder they might feel threatened by the conversation.


A judicial monopoly will inevitably lead to a steady deterioration in the quality of justice and protection. If no one can appeal to justice except to government, justice will be perverted in favor of the government, constitutions and supreme courts notwithstanding. Constitutions and supreme courts are state constitutions and agencies, and all limitations to state action they might contain or find are invariably decided by agents of the very institution under consideration. Predictably, the definition of property and protection will continually be altered and the range of jurisdiction expanded to the government's advantage until, ultimately, the notion of universal and immutable human rights and in particular property rights-will disappear and be replaced by that of law as government-made legislation and rights as government-given grants.

- Hans Herman Hoppe


A tax-funded protection agency is a contradiction in terms--an expropriating property protector--and will inevitably lead to more taxes and less protection. Even if, as some classical liberal statists have proposed, a government limited its activities exclusively to the protection of pre-existing private property rights, the further question of how much security to produce would arise. Motivated (like everyone) by self-interest and the disutility of labor but endowed with the unique power to tax, a government agent's response will invariably be the same: To maximize expenditures on protection-and almost all of a nation's wealth can conceivably be consumed by the cost of protection-and at the same time to minimize the production of protection. The more money one can spend and the less one must work to produce, the better off one will be.

- Hans Herman Hoppe


Alone on his island, Robinson Crusoe can do whatever he pleases. For him, the question concerning rules of orderly human conduct—social cooperation—simply does not arise. Naturally, this question can only arise once a second person, Friday, arrives on the island. Yet even then, the question remains largely irrelevant so long as no scarcity exists. Suppose the island is the Garden of Eden; all external goods are available in superabundance. They are “free goods,” just as the air that we breathe is normally a “free” good. Whatever Crusoe does with these goods, his actions have repercussions neither with respect to his own future supply of such goods nor regarding the present or future supply of the same goods for Friday (and vice versa). Hence, it is impossible that there could ever be a conflict between Crusoe and Friday concerning the use of such goods. A conflict is only possible if goods are scarce. Only then will there arise the need to formulate rules that make orderly—conflict-free—social cooperation possible.

In the Garden of Eden only two scarce goods exist: the physical body of a person and its standing room. Crusoe and Friday each have only one body and can stand only at one place at a time. Hence, even in the Garden of Eden conflicts between Crusoe and Friday can arise: Crusoe and Friday cannot occupy the same standing room simultaneously without coming thereby into physical conflict with each other. Accordingly, even in the Garden of Eden rules of orderly social conduct must exist—rules regarding the proper location and movement of human bodies. And outside the Garden of Eden, in the realm of scarcity, there must be rules that regulate not only the use of personal bodies but also of everything scarce so that all possible conflicts can be ruled out. This is the problem of social order.

- Hans Herman Hoppe


🚀 BR084: Nostr Rising 07 - Long Form Content ft. nostr:npub1kuy0wwf0tzzqvgfv8zpw0vaupkds3430jhapwrgfjyn7ecnhpe0qj9kdj8 , nostr:npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/LKdVapls4bfB28sqjRG4
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Zz6xpDI2ATZrkw1f80o3v
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/818b5f82-2499-4935-908e-24d684377cec/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br084-nostr-rising-07---long-form-content-ft-dk-miljan
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br084-nostr-rising-07-long-form-content-ft-dk-miljan/id1632017958?i=1000674762368
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/MgVWhI9dCzE

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-84/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br084-nostr-rising-07-long-form-content

Miljan and DK discuss the freedom and flexibility of highlights on nostr, and the possibilities that this enables. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LlGf.mov


Was Ricardo's Comparative Advantage Really Different From What Adam Smith Said About Foreign Trade?

https://fountain.fm/episode/KvpYniQhnBj2xmhxrZve


The American Economy Is in Trouble

https://fountain.fm/episode/nxCW2R5WRPv09jmDe7x0


🚀 BR083: Nostr Rising 06 - Zap the Planet and Nostr Money ft. @calledlle 👁⚡👁 , nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft , nostr:npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/yE5Rbi5yZFfJGVMx2LDm
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/07txVAkNudBrywI2XxQ6UX
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/0b874bcd-df55-4e97-adf1-d603eaa4c002/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br083-nostr-rising-06---zap-the-planet-and-nostr-money-ft-calle-pablo-miljan
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br083-nostr-rising-06-zap-the-planet-and-nostr-money/id1632017958?i=1000674444495
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/SE88l1HLHkQ

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-83/
➡ Substack: https://substack.bitcoin.review/p/br083-nostr-rising-06-zap-the-planet

Is the multi-layered coordination enabled by nostr what we need to take #Bitcoin, #lightning and #cashu payments to the next level? Calle and NVK give their take.👇
https://m.primal.net/Lhmc.mov


Despots and democratic majorities are drunk with power. They must reluctantly admit that they are subject to the laws of nature. But they reject the very notion of economic law. Are they not the supreme legislator?...It is impossible to understand the history of economic thought if one does not pay attention to the fact that economics as such is a challenge to the conceit of those in power. An economist can never be a favorite of autocrats and demagogues. With them he is always the mischief-maker, and the more they are inwardly convinced that his objections are well founded, the more they hate him.

- Mises


Playing With Fire and Its Critics

https://fountain.fm/episode/qNgGJ0Qt93o2hpqS4yUo


~ 3 months


Thanks 🙏

I'm truly blessed.


#DadLife


No words can capture the joy you feel when your newborn laughs for the first time.


🚀 BR082: Nostr Rising 05 - Podcasting 2.0 ft. nostr:npub1v0lxxxxutpvrelsksy8cdhgfux9l6a42hsj2qzquu2zk7vc9qnkszrqj49 , nostr:npub1qny3tkh0acurzla8x3zy4nhrjz5zd8l9sy9jys09umwng00manysew95gx , nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn , nostr:npub1unmftuzmkpdjxyj4en8r63cm34uuvjn9hnxqz3nz6fls7l5jzzfqtvd0j2 & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/GCo8fsHZyA7QYgjt9Hjt
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fNX4T4VKF2wrQjaeQdzEH
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/40d520ff-828e-4c68-a963-9c0a8a5f61db/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br082-nostr-rising-05---podcasting-2-0-ft-kieran-odell-hodlbod-oscar-merry
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br082-nostr-rising-05-podcasting-2-0-ft-kieran-odell/id1632017958?i=1000674185212
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/LZ9EbrEKFKE

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0fNX4T4VKF2wrQjaeQdzEH?si=700rvzdHQymVa7yt0ZHBZQ
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br082-nostr-rising-05-podcasting

Fountain is killing it in the Podcasting 2.0 world, but does it risk becoming monopoly if it attracts too much of the market share? Are open protocols the answer? Odell shares his thoughts on keeping podcasting 2.0 maximally decentralized. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LfqM.mov


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/nNLg15fzfvUblutQTDdU

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzpmq5apzxndczzs6eemy8ttmuye5pg62v98drvac63uu9rdsjjrz0mudx24


People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of character.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson


mises.org: How to Vote for Liberty -- https://tinyurl.com/23g3h6u9 -- Voting is controversial among Austro-Libertarians for many reasons. However, if one does choose to vote, one should understand that the state is never constrained by the voters and cannot be “reformed.” #liberty #news


Thanks 🙏


Some believe it is only [state] power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.

nostr:nevent1qqs8mf58pl0fk5nxsuly9nffygsguz393ewhgpx8v7583kj2zwq0e7gpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef0qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpmf6srw


Coming full circle, it becomes clear that the fight for liberty is waged on many fronts. As libertarians, we should honor our commitment to the division of labor and specialization by allowing individuals to determine where their unique contributions can be most effective. Political action can serve as a defensive measure, helping to preserve liberty by slowing or thwarting the state’s encroachments. On the other hand, market-based efforts, through the strategic use of our money and time, offer an offensive approach—fostering the development of parallel systems and networks that make state-controlled services increasingly irrelevant.

The most important political election of our lifetime is fast approaching, but regardless of who wins, the state will continue its relentless encroachment on our liberties in one form or another. Our response cannot be limited to defensive voting at the ballot box—we must also take the offensive by leveraging our resources to build voluntary, decentralized networks of liberty. Each small act in our daily lives contributes to the dismantling of centralized power and the creation of a free and brighter future.

nostr:nevent1qqs8mf58pl0fk5nxsuly9nffygsguz393ewhgpx8v7583kj2zwq0e7gpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef0qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpmf6srw


Mises examines economic voting within a free market, where consumers cast “votes” through their spending, with each unit of currency acting as a ballot. This system reflects a democratic process, shaping economic outcomes based on individual preferences. Mises highlights an inherent inequality: wealthier individuals possess more market voting power, a result of past interactions where they have successfully met consumer needs. He argues that in a truly free market, devoid of government interference or cronyism, wealth accumulation is directly tied to the ability to satisfy consumer demands. Thus, the flow of wealth is subject to consumer votes, rewarding those who excel in serving societal needs while penalizing those who do not. Ultimately, Mises depicts the market as self-regulating, with consumer preferences continually redistributing wealth.

Expanding on Mises’s observation, we must recognize that our influence in the market extends beyond monetary transactions. How we allocate our time can be understood as a profound form of voting, with each choice reflecting our values and priorities, wielding significant power in shaping our communities and broader society. When we consciously dedicate our time to local initiatives, we not only strengthen social networks but also foster a sense of belonging and purpose. This engagement allows us to promote liberty and self-governance while creating alternatives to state-controlled systems. By participating in community-building activities or volunteering for causes we believe in, we cast votes for a more vibrant and resilient society. In this framework, our time becomes a ballot, signaling our commitment to the world we want to cultivate. Each hour invested in meaningful pursuits contributes to a collective movement that challenges the status quo and encourages innovation. By choosing to invest our time wisely, we lay the foundation for a future where liberty, self-determination, and respect for property rights thrive. Viewing our time as a form of voting harnesses its transformative potential, driving positive change, and empowering ourselves and our communities.

nostr:nevent1qqs8mf58pl0fk5nxsuly9nffygsguz393ewhgpx8v7583kj2zwq0e7gpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef0qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpmf6srw


In truth, in the case of individuals, their actual voting is not to be taken as proof of consent, even for the time being. On the contrary, it is to be considered that, without his consent having even been asked, a man finds himself environed by a government that he cannot resist; a government that forces him to pay money, render service, and forego the exercise of many of his natural rights, under peril of weighty punishments. He sees, too, that other men practice this tyranny over him by the use of the ballot. He sees further, that, if he will but use the ballot himself, he has some chance of relieving himself from this tyranny of others, by subjecting them to his own. In short, he finds himself, without his consent, so situated that, if he uses the ballot, he may become a master; if he does not use it, he must become a slave. And he has no other alternative than these two.

nostr:note10kngwr77ndfxdpe7gtxjjg3q3c9ztrjawszvweag0rdy5yuqlnus624pvy


In the broad liberty movement, within its niche subcommunities, it’s almost inevitable that you’ll encounter infighting, especially when debates arise about using political means to achieve liberty. These discussions tend to flare up online around election season, as the topic of voting becomes more prominent in the public discourse. Generally, two camps emerge in these debates: what we might call the “purist” camp and the “practical” camp. By highlighting the often-overlooked nuances within these arguments, we can step back and see the bigger picture—understanding how liberty-minded individuals can make informed voting choices that align with their principles.

nostr:nevent1qqs8mf58pl0fk5nxsuly9nffygsguz393ewhgpx8v7583kj2zwq0e7gpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmp0qgs964yyepyk02krnpkd2y403hxa2fpn6zgp4kamty3kqyvgg2p658srqsqqqqqpu032sy


How to Vote for Liberty

My latest piece with Mises

https://mises.org/mises-wire/how-vote-liberty


The Tale of the Slave
https://youtu.be/uxRSkM8C8z4


Sometimes When You Win, You Really Lose

https://fountain.fm/episode/WTweQyEBjscCrzgRhiAI


The more the state "plans," the more difficult planning becomes for the individual.

- Hayek


🚀 BR081: Nostr Rising 04 - DMs and Groupchats ft. nostr:npub180cvv07tjdrrgpa0j7j7tmnyl2yr6yr7l8j4s3evf6u64th6gkwsyjh6w6 , nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn , nostr:npub1zuuajd7u3sx8xu92yav9jwxpr839cs0kc3q6t56vd5u9q033xmhsk6c2uc & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/l1ZQwXohpQIaLb28PxLc
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4eSL3JbjYxV2p3ZYhud82Y
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br081-nostr-rising-04-dms-and-groupchats-ft-fiatjaf/id1632017958?i=1000673849802
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/r393gGtpr1k

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-81/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br081-nostr-rising-04-dms-and-groupchats

The panel gives a roundup of the various specs related to DMs and groupchats, and how these have evolved and updated. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LdME.mov


The point Saylor makes that he (FDR) “didn’t really seize the gold” and “kick in everybody’s door” is an argument for self-custody rather than against it.

Meaning, if you’e held your own gold when Executive Order 6102 was issued, you’d have been fine. But if you’d held your gold with a bank, there would be no way to get it back. You’d have to accept the conversion to fiat.

It’s great that the institutions are adopting Bitcoin now, and Saylor deserves credit for leading the way. Institutional adoption of Bitcoin was always going to be a step towards mass adoption. And it is true that certain use cases do require custodians, which is fine so long as users are aware of the trade-offs.

But it cannot be overstated that by holding your Bitcoin with trusted third parties, “the main benefits are lost.”

Satoshi warns against this in the very first page of the whitepaper.
https://m.primal.net/LdjW.mov
https://m.primal.net/LdjY.jpg


Just when you thought US courts couldn't be any more retarded, a New York Judge just dismissed the defamation suit against Chainalysis because he says the software enjoys free speech protections.

Full story:
https://www.therage.co/chainalysis-defamation-dismissed/


Mises on Democracy: A Critique

https://fountain.fm/episode/ae1YYITgpL36P5Qe59Nu


All States Are Empires of Economic Lies

https://fountain.fm/episode/PYi3NNpJc28avanO6PO3


Our Enemy, Public Health

https://fountain.fm/episode/gEGJOP4ytrUMnsnckmS7


Where Would We Be without the State?

https://fountain.fm/episode/auPHEH5xapymoXE2y9BW


Where VWould We Be without the State?

https://fountain.fm/episode/auPHEH5xapymoXE2y9BW


The Social Responsibility of Business

https://fountain.fm/episode/Q1K3pveFCyBWW6z0F3Pm


The Regime Lies to You About Recessions

https://fountain.fm/episode/vS6mZ3n01TJbHG4m3eaj


What Was Mises' Position on Fractional Reserve Banking?

https://fountain.fm/episode/eXVTpeyOpg926M2dH2WL


Saylor's going to gaslight folks into believing that self custody is bad and we shouldn't continue improving the protocol because he wants you to buy $MSTR and regulated ETF products.
 https://video.nostr.build/f65d7319f8e8197664aa647c7a86f6f3b3e1ab0754459b85727025ac53ae5a53.mp4

As I've been warning
https://image.nostr.build/749fd2e90569f62b1e44a8d778d91408598dc05cae07b55c8b4c0a0ec4888153.jpg


🚀 BR080: Nostr Rising 03 - Relays & Scaling ft. @fiattjaf , nostr:npub1acg6thl5psv62405rljzkj8spesceyfz2c32udakc2ak0dmvfeyse9p35c , nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft  & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/uv01WXOQX1bAuFqm7p1L
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4teCgluLd7nZKYl1yNWrYB
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/b8b2972b-feaf-4c86-96b5-270f73a49cac/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br080-nostr-rising-03---relays-scaling-ft-fiatjaf-mike-dilger-pablo
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br080-nostr-rising-03-relays-scaling-ft-fiatjaf-mike/id1632017958?i=1000673574900
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/_AaC_OUHWk0

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-80/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br080-nostr-rising-03-relays-and

The panelists discuss the all-too-common question: "Who's going to run the relays?!" 👇
https://m.primal.net/LZtN.mov


An essential point in the social philosophy of interventionism is the existence of an inexhaustible fund, which can be squeezed forever. The whole system of interventionism collapses when this fountain is drained off: The Santa Claus principle liquidates itself.

- Mises


I ❤ Ghibli


Don't be too quick with your judgement. You never know what people are going through.


The answer to why fractional reserve agreements are ethically impermissible, and why there can be no contracts to make warehouse receipts debt, is that such agreements and contracts contradict (deny) the nature of things. Any such contract is from the outset — a priori — invalid. Selgin and White try to get around this inescapable conclusion by adopting, wittingly or not, an ultra-subjectivist view of contracts and agreements. According to this view, the very fact that a voluntary agreement is reached and/or a contract is concluded demonstrates that it must be a valid — true or permissible — agreement and contract. Yet this view is not only false it is also incompatible with Rothbard’s title-transfer theory of contract that these authors claim to have accepted. Agreements and contracts per se do not imply anything regarding their validity for the fundamental reason that agreements and contracts do not create reality, but rather presuppose it. More specifically, contracts do not bring property into existence, but rather recognize and transfer existing property. Hence, as in Rothbard’s ethical system, the theory of property must precede the treatment of contracts. Contracts and contract theory presuppose and are constrained by property and property theory. That is, the range of possible (valid) contracts is limited and restricted by the existing quantity (stock) of property and the nature of things, rather than the other way around. Thus, agreements regarding flying elephants, centaurs, squared circles, of perpetui mobile, for instance, are invalid contracts. They cannot — by virtue of biological, physical, or mathematical law — be fulfilled, and are from the outset false and fraudulent.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe

https://mises.org/quarterly-journal-austrian-economics/against-fiduciary-media


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/L6vjsEWcqMN657K6KevO

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzp59pcm8tmy79zwsmlmacwks7fuufeujwmqd69vq8pcwfu8zqtyed0stwa0


Aspiring monopolists regularly seek and frequently obtain the assistance of the power of the state to make their control effective.

- Friedrich Hayek


Dads Against Predators

https://fountain.fm/episode/ty6jVHE4YtcAxZ2K6zGi


Basic Economics


The Assault on Our Liberties

https://fountain.fm/episode/3aMyftJyEngxhMYa40Sq


The great escape of our times is escape from personal responsibility for the consequences of one’s own behavior.

- Thomas Sowell


Bitcoin Audible Read_850 - Three Doors, Which Will Bitcoin Choose?

nostr:nprofile1qqsrwseygwgtu5688flrkwudqnwws0mvj52tsx5e07emzg7qwthe77qpzemhxue69uhhyetvv9ujucm0d9hx7uewd9hj77n4tx3
nostr:nprofile1qqstnem9g6aqv3tw6vqaneftcj06frns56lj9q470gdww228vysz8hqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ejxzmt4wvhxjmcjgxv3n

https://fountain.fm/episode/Aes80kFvBWsMnSamkxmb


🚀 BR079: Nostr Rising 02 - Communities ft. nostr:npub1wmr34t36fy03m8hvgl96zl3znndyzyaqhwmwdtshwmtkg03fetaqhjg240 , nostr:npub108pv4cg5ag52nq082kd5leu9ffrn2gdg6g4xdwatn73y36uzplmq9uyev6 , nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn , nostr:npub1l2vyh47mk2p0qlsku7hg0vn29faehy9hy34ygaclpn66ukqp3afqutajft  & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/mERB1JhH9mOmiMiZV8Zy
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4H2g3D2mNqXxm4wNSThELt
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/07b3139d-171d-4514-81d4-6cb620e72912/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br079-nostr-rising-02---communities-ft-rabble-alex-gleason-hodlbod-pablo
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br079-nostr-rising-02-communities-ft-rabble-alex-gleason/id1632017958?i=1000673315246
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/xU9Pj2_khU0

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast,/nostr/episode-79/
➡ Substack: https://substack.bitcoin.review/p/br079-nostr-rising-02-communities

Rabble explains the importance of communities in bootstrapping nostr, and highlights some of the challenges in ensuring we build an optimal community experience. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LXfe.mov


Within the frame of social cooperation there can emerge between members of society feelings of sympathy and friendship and a sense of belonging together. These feelings are the source of man’s most delightful and most sublime experiences. They are the most precious adornment of life; they lift the animal species man to the heights of a really human existence. However, they are not, as some have asserted, the agents that have brought about social relationships. They are fruits of social cooperation, they thrive only within its frame; they did not precede the establishment of social relations and are not the seed from which they spring.

The fundamental facts that brought about cooperation, society, and civilization and transformed the animal man into a human being are the facts that work performed under the division of labor is more productive than isolated work and that man’s reason is capable of recognizing this truth. But for these facts men would have forever remained deadly foes of one another, irreconcilable rivals in their endeavors to secure a portion of the scarce supply of means of sustenance provided by nature. Each man would have been forced to view all other men as his enemies; his craving for the satisfaction of his own appetites would have brought him into an implacable conflict with all his neighbors. No sympathy could possibly develop under such a state of affairs.

Some sociologists have asserted that the original and elementary subjective fact in society is a “consciousness of kind.”1 Others maintain that there would be no social systems if there were no “sense of community or of belonging together.”2 One may agree, provided that these somewhat vague and ambiguous terms are correctly interpreted. We may call consciousness of kind, sense of community, or sense of belonging together the acknowledgment of the fact that all other human beings are potential collaborators in the struggle for survival because they are capable of recognizing the mutual benefits of cooperation, while the animals lack this faculty. However, we must not forget that the primary facts that bring about such consciousness or such a sense are the two mentioned above. In a hypothetical world in which the division of labor would not increase productivity, there would not be any society. There would not be any sentiments of benevolence and good will.

The principle of the division of labor is one of the great basic principles of cosmic becoming and evolutionary change. The biologists were right in borrowing the concept of the division of labor from social philosophy and in adapting it to their field of investigation. There is division of labor between the various parts of any living organism. There are, furthermore, organic entities composed of collaborating animal individuals; it is customary to call metaphorically such aggregations of the ants and bees “animal societies.” But one must never forget that the characteristic feature of human society is purposeful cooperation; society is an outcome of human action, i.e., of a conscious aiming at the attainment of ends. No such element is present, as far as we can ascertain, in the processes which have resulted in the emergence of the structure-function systems of plant and animal bodies and in the operation of the societies of ants, bees, and hornets. Human society is an intellectual and spiritual phenomenon. It is the outcome of a purposeful utilization of a universal law determining cosmic becoming, viz., the higher productivity of the division of labor. As with every instance of action, the recognition of the laws of nature is put into the service of man’s efforts to improve his conditions.

- Mises

https://mises.org/mises-daily/human-society


Within the frame of social cooperation there can emerge between members of society feelings of sympathy and friendship and a sense of belonging together. These feelings are the source of man’s most delightful and most sublime experiences. They are the most precious adornment of life; they lift the animal species man to the heights of a really human existence. However, they are not, as some have asserted, the agents that have brought about social relationships. They are fruits of social cooperation, they thrive only within its frame; they did not precede the establishment of social relations and are not the seed from which they spring.

The fundamental facts that brought about cooperation, society, and civilization and transformed the animal man into a human being are the facts that work performed under the division of labor is more productive than isolated work and that man’s reason is capable of recognizing this truth. But for these facts men would have forever remained deadly foes of one another, irreconcilable rivals in their endeavors to secure a portion of the scarce supply of means of sustenance provided by nature. Each man would have been forced to view all other men as his enemies; his craving for the satisfaction of his own appetites would have brought him into an implacable conflict with all his neighbors. No sympathy could possibly develop under such a state of affairs.

Some sociologists have asserted that the original and elementary subjective fact in society is a “consciousness of kind.”1 Others maintain that there would be no social systems if there were no “sense of community or of belonging together.”2 One may agree, provided that these somewhat vague and ambiguous terms are correctly interpreted. We may call consciousness of kind, sense of community, or sense of belonging together the acknowledgment of the fact that all other human beings are potential collaborators in the struggle for survival because they are capable of recognizing the mutual benefits of cooperation, while the animals lack this faculty. However, we must not forget that the primary facts that bring about such consciousness or such a sense are the two mentioned above. In a hypothetical world in which the division of labor would not increase productivity, there would not be any society. There would not be any sentiments of benevolence and good will.

The principle of the division of labor is one of the great basic principles of cosmic becoming and evolutionary change. The biologists were right in borrowing the concept of the division of labor from social philosophy and in adapting it to their field of investigation. There is division of labor between the various parts of any living organism. There are, furthermore, organic entities composed of collaborating animal individuals; it is customary to call metaphorically such aggregations of the ants and bees “animal societies.” But one must never forget that the characteristic feature of human society is purposeful cooperation; society is an outcome of human action, i.e., of a conscious aiming at the attainment of ends. No such element is present, as far as we can ascertain, in the processes which have resulted in the emergence of the structure-function systems of plant and animal bodies and in the operation of the societies of ants, bees, and hornets. Human society is an intellectual and spiritual phenomenon. It is the outcome of a purposeful utilization of a universal law determining cosmic becoming, viz., the higher productivity of the division of labor. As with every instance of action, the recognition of the laws of nature is put into the service of man’s efforts to improve his conditions.

https://mises.org/mises-daily/human-society


The Beauty and Importance of Comparative Advantage

https://fountain.fm/episode/8OBYNuDw67QRhvjuds10


“It’s not simply a new asset class, or a toy for Wall Street, it is a foundation for revolutionary self-organization to solve the problems that governments either can’t, or actively create themselves. It’s for us, not them.”

PREACH nostr:note1mmrlvc2rqj096lljtzqyj4g5090e337ch5pqavpefj7q09y8jfzqdtjvke


It seems almost as if we did not want to understand the development which has produced totalitarianism because such an understanding might destroy some of the dearest illusions to which we are determined to cling.

— Friedrich Hayek


Constrained by time preference, man will only exchange a present good against a future one if he anticipates thereby increasing his amount of future goods. The rate of time preference, which can be different from person to person and from one point in time to the next, but which can never be anything but positive for everyone, simultaneously determines the height of the premium which present goods command over future ones as well as the amount of savings and investment. The market rate of interest is the aggregate sum of all individual time preference rates, reflecting, so to say, the social rate of time preference, and equilibrating social savings (i.e., the supply of present goods offered for exchange against future goods) and social investment (i.e., the demand for present goods capable of yielding future returns).

No supply of loanable funds could exist without previous savings, i.e., without the abstention from some possible consumption of present goods. Furthermore, no demand for loanable funds would exist if no one were to perceive any opportunity to employ present goods productively (i.e., to invest them so as to produce a future output that would exceed current input). Indeed, if all present goods were consumed and none invested in time- consuming production processes, there would be no interest or time preference rate, or rather, the interest rate would be infinitely high, which outside of the Garden of Eden, would be tantamount to eking out a primitive subsistence living by encountering reality with nothing but one's bare hands and with nothing but a desire for instantaneous gratification.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


The major function of praxeology—of economics—is to bring to the world the knowledge of these indirect, these hidden, consequences of the different forms of human action. The hidden order, harmony, and efficiency of the voluntary free market, the hidden disorder, conflict, and gross inefficiency of coercion and intervention—these are the great truths that economic science, through deductive analysis from self-evident axioms, reveals to us. Praxeology cannot, by itself, pass ethical judgment or make policy decisions. Praxeology, through its Wertfrei laws, informs us that the workings of the voluntary principle and of the free market lead inexorably to freedom, prosperity, harmony, efficiency, and order; while coercion and government intervention lead inexorably to hegemony, conflict, exploitation of man by man, inefficiency, poverty, and chaos. At this point, praxeology retires from the scene; and it is up to the citizen—the ethicist—to choose his political course according to the values that he holds dear.

- Murray Rothbard


A comprehensive understanding of economic exchange illuminates the transformative power of voluntary transactions and the consequences of coercion. Voluntary exchanges, driven by self-interest, freedom, and mutual benefit, unleash the forces of prosperity, innovation, and personal autonomy. They create a society where individuals can freely engage in mutually beneficial transactions, fostering societal well-being and upholding the moral fabric of economic interactions.

Conversely, coercion disrupts the delicate balance of power, compromises individual freedom, and distorts the ethical foundations of economic exchange. By recognizing the moral implications of voluntary and coerced exchanges, we gain profound insights into the virtues of voluntary transactions and the detrimental effects of coercion on market effectiveness and individual freedom.

https://mises.org/mises-wire/simplicity-and-significance-mutual-economic-exchange


nostr:nprofile1qqstnem9g6aqv3tw6vqaneftcj06frns56lj9q470gdww228vysz8hqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ejxzmt4wvhxjmcjgxv3n's Take_092 - Inflation Does One Thing

https://fountain.fm/episode/H6FpcGLKSqp0zWIFugZN


🚀 BR078: Nostr Rising 01 - Permissionless Algos ft. nostr:npub1xtscya34g58tk0z605fvr788k263gsu6cy9x0mhnm87echrgufzsevkk5s , nostr:npub1jlrs53pkdfjnts29kveljul2sm0actt6n8dxrrzqcersttvcuv3qdjynqn , nostr:npub16c0nh3dnadzqpm76uctf5hqhe2lny344zsmpm6feee9p5rdxaa9q586nvr & nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/rrZNKoROI34ccbuWesrW
➡ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2tDCZy6qAGpVGEQVVkwluN
➡ Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/episodes/ef5eab3d-6762-4917-9b5e-77cd99dd9f7c/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests-br078-nostr-rising-01---permissionless-algos-ft-jb55-hodlbod-miljan
➡ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br078-nostr-rising-01-permissionless-algos-ft-jb55/id1632017958?i=1000673073635
➡ YouTube: https://youtu.be/tyj5CU6i1Bo

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast,/nostr/episode-78/
➡Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br078-nostr-rising-01-permissionless

Damus creator Will perfectly explains why we're all so excited about nostr.  (This is it!)👇
https://m.primal.net/LWDr.mov


In this episode, Kenji Tateiwa, CEO of Agile Energy X, discusses his extensive background in nuclear engineering and the impact of the Fukushima disaster on public perception of nuclear energy. He explains the innovative concept behind Agile Energy X, which leverages wasted renewable energy through Bitcoin mining to address curtailment and grid congestion issues in Japan. Kenji elaborates on the unique flexibility of Bitcoin mining as an energy buyer and its potential role in the future energy landscape, including the integration of circular economy principles. The conversation also touches on the challenges and opportunities in Japan’s energy production, particularly regarding nuclear energy and the need for a diverse energy portfolio.

https://stephanlivera.com/episode/609/


The establishment of a ruling class over an exploited one many times its size by coercion and the manipulation of public opinion (i.e., a low degree of class consciousness among the exploited), finds its most basic institutional expression in the creation of a system of public law superimposed on private law. The ruling class sets itself apart and protects its position as a ruling class by adopting a constitution for their firm’s operations. On the one hand, by formalizing the internal operations within the state apparatus as well as its relations vis-à-vis the exploited population, a constitution creates some degree of legal stability. The more familiar and popular private law notions are incorporated into constitutional and public law, the more conducive this will be to the creation of favorable public opinion. On the other hand, any constitution and public law also formalizes the exemplary status of the ruling class as regards the homesteading principle. It formalizes the right of the state’s representatives to engage in nonproductive and noncontractual property acquisitions and the ultimate subordination of private to public law.

Class justice, i.e., a dualism of one set of laws for the rulers and another for the ruled, comes to bear in this dualism of public and private law and in the domination and infiltration of public law over and into private law. It is not because private-property rights are recognized by law, as Marxists think, that class justice is established. Rather, class justice comes into being precisely whenever a legal distinction exists between a class of persons acting under and being protected by public law and another class acting under and being protected instead by some subordinate private law. More specifically then, the basic proposition of the Marxist theory of the state in particular is false. The state is not exploitative because it protects the capitalists’ property rights, but because it itself is exempt from the restriction of having to acquire property productively and contractually.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


“The smallest minority on earth is the individual. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be defenders of minorities.”
― Ayn Rand

https://i.nostr.build/KZYl.jpg


More than force is needed to expand exploitation over a population many times its own size. For this to happen, a firm must also have public support. A majority of the population must accept the exploitative actions as legitimate. This acceptance can range from active enthusiasm to passive resignation. But it must be acceptance in the sense that a majority must have given up the idea of actively or passively resisting any attempt to enforce nonproductive and noncontractual property acquisitions. The class consciousness must be low, undeveloped and fuzzy. Only as long as this state of affairs lasts is there still room for an exploitative firm to prosper even if no actual demand for it exists. Only if and insofar as the exploited and expropriated develop a clear idea of their own situation and are united with other members of their class through an ideological movement which gives expression to the idea of a classless society where all exploitation is abolished, can the power of the ruling class be broken. Only if, and insofar as, a majority of the exploited public becomes consciously integrated into such a movement and accordingly displays a common outrage over all nonproductive or noncontractual property acquisitions, shows a contempt for everyone who engages in such acts, and deliberately contributes nothing to help make them successful (not to mention actively trying to obstruct them), can its power be brought to crumble.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


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https://fountain.fm/episode/S7jgmzR4UHLg7X4mZo0P


Philipp Bagus on the Flaws in the "Real Bills" Doctrine

https://fountain.fm/episode/7vSvF9EX1iXUV82rIrOL


Instead of being constrained by cost and demand conditions, the growth of an exploiting firm is constrained by public opinion: non-productive and non-contractual property acquisitions require coercion, and coercion creates victims. It is conceivable that resistance can be lastingly broken by force in the case of one man (or a group of men) exploiting one or maybe two or three others (or a group of roughly the same size). It is inconceivable, however, to imagine that force alone can account for the breaking down of resistance in the actually familiar case of small minorities expropriating and exploiting populations ten, hundreds, or thousands of times their size. For this to happen a firm must have public support in addition to coercive force. A majority of the population must accept its operations as legitimate. This acceptance can range from active enthusiasm to passive resignation. But acceptance it must be in the sense that a majority must have given up the idea of actively or passively resisting any attempt to enforce non-productive and non-contractual property acquisitions. Instead of displaying outrage over such actions, of showing contempt for everyone who engages in them, and of doing nothing to help make them successful (not to mention actively trying to obstruct them), a majority must actively or passively support them. State-supportive public opinion must counterbalance the resistance of victimized property owners such that active resistance appears futile. And the goal of the state, then, and of every state employee who wants to contribute toward securing and improving his own position within the state, is and must be that of maximizing exploitatively acquired wealth and income by producing favorable public opinion and creating legitimacy.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Everything Voluntary ✌


The human race divides politically into those who want people to be controlled and those who have no such desire.

- Robert Heinlein


Bringing Thomas Sowell to the Stage

https://fountain.fm/episode/72uhfrHaAZskhjDSuhQt


🚀 BR077 - BIP85 Drama, Bitcoin Core, secp256k1, DATUM, Jam, Krux, Twelve Cash, NomadNet, Salt Typhoon Hack + MORE ft. nostr:npub1emdtsxly9m68m00x206t574jttp65vk0c2m89ms038q047yz7ylqcac9aw , nostr:npub1p4kg8zxukpym3h20erfa3samj00rm2gt4q5wfuyu3tg0x3jg3gesvncxf8 &
nostr:npub1az9xj85cmxv8e9j9y80lvqp97crsqdu2fpu3srwthd99qfu9qsgstam8y8

Listen to the episode:
➡ Fountain: https://fountain.fm/episode/h61D8c5ovOQtJVCAFhJx
➡Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ognV7itG3I4j1Si8DUm98?si=VllWdZJST-2AcxqLdL5d4Q
➡Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/2e6729fd-6d66-4d74-8cd7-6d7e8e036542/bitcoin-review-podcast-with-nvk-guests
➡Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/br076-sparrow-anchorwatch-exploding-pagers-bitcoin/id1632017958?i=1000670711575
➡YouTube: https://youtu.be/TBRK_ANuiJU

Shownotes:
➡ Website: https://bitcoin.review/podcast/episode-77/
➡ Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/bitcoinreview/p/br077-bip85-drama-bitcoin-core-secp256k1

NVK addresses the recent BIP85 "drama" and shares his thoughts on the BIP process, and Rob gives a great explainer on BIP85 and why the breaking change matters. 👇
https://m.primal.net/LRcq.mov


While exploitation and expropriation may have seemed bad, they seem much less so, mankind being what it is, once one is given the chance to participate in its process, and while the ambitions of potential power-wielders within the general public previously must have been frustrated, now there is an institutionalized outlet for them.

In paying the price of democratizing its constitution, the state corrupts substantial parts of public opinion into gradually losing sight of the fundamental fact that an act of exploitation and expropriation is in all appearances and consequences the same no matter how and by whom it is decided and enforced. It lures them instead into accepting the view that such acts are legitimate as long as one is guaranteed a say over them somewhere along the line and could somehow somewhere participate in the selection of the state-personnel.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Today, little is left of this ethic of private property and its anti-government vigilance. Although they now take place on a much grander scale, governmental appropriations of private property owners are overwhelmingly regarded as legitimate. There is no longer a general public opinion that regards government as an antisocial institution based on coercion and unjust property acquisitions, to be opposed and ridiculed everywhere and at all times on principled grounds. No longer is it generally regarded as morally despicable to propagate or, even worse, to actively participate in the enforcement of acts of expropriation, and no longer is it the general opinion that one would not have any private dealings whatsoever with people who engaged in such activities.

On the contrary, instead of being laughed off the stage or met with open hostility or passive indignation, such people are respected as decent and honest men. The politician who actively supports a continuation of the ongoing system of non-contractual property taxation and regulation or who even demands its expansion is treated everywhere with respect, rather than contempt. The intellectual who justifies taxation and regulation receives recognition as a deep and profound thinker in the public eye, instead of being exposed as an intellectual fraud. The IRS agent is regarded as a man doing a job just as legitimate as yours and mine, and not as an outcast that no one wishes to have as a relative, friend, or neighbor.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


The size of government does not increase because of any objective causes over which ideas have no control and certainly not because there is a demand for it. It grows because the ideas that prevail in public opinion of what is just and what is wrong have changed. What once was regarded by public opinion as an outrage, to be treated and dealt with as such, has become increasingly accepted as legitimate.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Experience cannot beat logic, and interpretations of observational evidence which are not in line with the laws of logical reasoning are no refutation of these but the sign of a muddled mind (or would one accept someone’s observational report that he had seen a bird that was red and non-red all over at the same time as a refutation of the law of contradiction rather than the pronouncement of an idiot?).

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Taxation is not just a punishment of consumption without any effect on productive efforts; it is also an assault on production as the only means of providing for and possibly increasing future income and consumption expenditure. By lowering the present value associated with future-directed, value-productive efforts, taxation raises the effective rate of time preference, i.e., the rate of originary interest and, accordingly, leads to a shortening of the period of production and provision and so exerts an inexorable influence of pushing mankind into the direction of an existence of living from hand to mouth. Just increase taxation enough, and you will have mankind reduced to the level of barbaric animal beasts.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Society has arisen out of the works of peace; the essence of society is peacemaking. Peace and not war is the father of all things. Only economic action has created the wealth around us; labor, not the profession of arms, brings happiness. Peace builds, war destroys.

- Mises

nostr:nevent1qqsfq4srvxp3dzptgakm836hzedqhh4w4v24x4hr5dr84lxa0xhtshcpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygza2jzvsjt84tpesmx4z2hcmnw4yseapyq6mwa4jgmqzxyy9qa2rcpsgqqqqqqs3zqkda


Every human social order is built on a foundation of voluntary cooperation.

Especially bitcoin.

nostr:nevent1qqsf8r0ap6vv87sy8atltzmcyczpz8p9qnljuajs5k5agdefq76zr2cpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygq6lcx8fc7h0p8t4ya9u0a92jnwavqe9rgjwwdw3wjgxfuxsz8rd5psgqqqqqqsfxffcd


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/OQYuv9KZ8XG5Mahyzr7a

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🎃
https://image.nostr.build/a8e7533675ac5f6090693585f91bdf2e6a9e651a1d164d783957209265807153.jpg


"If we are to meaningfully oppose state power, it is necessary to encourage, grow, and sustain institutions and organizations over which states cannot so easily roll their enormous weight."

https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-its-not-enough-hate-state


To Beat the State, We Must Replace It

https://fountain.fm/episode/qN1afJcui68ZdMORiYUb


Dinesh D'Souza
https://fountain.fm/episode/rZIdCWwMzOLDjAzRIQ41


Let us look, for instance, at the present-day United States. Assume that by a legislative act the state had abolished its right to provide security with tax funds and a competitive system of security production was introduced. Given the state of public opinion, how likely would it then be that outlaw producers would spring up, and what if they did? Evidently, the answer would depend on the reactions of the public to this changed situation. Thus, the first reply to those challenging the idea of a private market for security would have to be: What about you? What would your reaction be? Does your fear of outlaw companies mean that you would then go out and engage in trade with a security producer that aggressed against other people and their property, and would you continue supporting it if it did? Certainly the critic would be much muted by this counterattack. But more important than this is the systematic challenge implied in this personal counterattack. Evidently, the described change in the situation would imply a change in the cost-benefit structure that everyone would face once he had to make his decisions. Before the introduction of a competitive system of security production, it had been legal to participate in and support (state) aggression. Now such an activity would be an illegal activity. Hence, given one’s conscience, which makes each of one’s own decisions appear more or less costly, i.e., more or less in harmony with one’s own principles of correct behavior, support for a firm engaging in the exploitation of people unwilling to deliberately support its actions would be more costly now than before. Given this fact, it must be assumed that the number of people, among them even those who otherwise would have readily lent their support to the state, who would now spend their money to support a firm committed to honest business would rise and would rise everywhere this social experiment was tried. In contrast, the number of people still committed to a policy of exploitation, of gaining at the expense of others, would fall. How drastic this effect would be would of course depend on the state of public opinion. In the example at hand—the United States, where the natural theory of property is extremely widespread and accepted as a private ethic, the libertarian philosophy being essentially the ideology on which the country was founded and that led it to the height it reached —the effect would naturally be particularly pronounced. Accordingly, security producing firms committed to the philosophy of protecting and enforcing libertarian law would attract the greatest bulk of public support and financial assistance. And while it may be true that some people, and among them especially those who had profited from the old order, might continue their support of a policy of aggression, it is very unlikely that they would be sufficient in number and financial strength to succeed in doing so. Rather, the likely outcome would he that the honest companies would develop the strength needed—alone or in a combined effort and supported in this effort by their own voluntary customers—to check any such emergence of outlaw producers and destroy them wherever and whenever they came into existence.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Even if security is considered to be a public good, in the allocation of scarce resources it must compete with other goods. What is spent on security can no longer be spent on other goods that also might increase consumer satisfaction. Moreover, security is not a single, homogeneous good, but rather consists of numerous components and aspects. There is not only prevention of crime, detection of criminals, and enforcement of the law, but there is also security from robbers, rapists, polluters, natural disasters, and so on. Moreover, security is not produced in a “lump,” but can be supplied in marginal units. In addition, different people attach different importance to security as a whole, and also to different aspects of the whole thing, depending on their personal characteristics, their past experiences with various factors of insecurity, and the time and place in which they happen to live. Now, and here I address the fundamental economic problem of allocating scarce resources to competing uses, how can the state-an organization not financed exclusively by voluntary contributions and the sales of its products but rather partially or even wholly by taxes—decide how much security to produce, how much of each of its countless aspects, to whom and where to provide how much of what? The answer is that it has no rational way to decide this question. From the point of view of the consumers, its response to their security demands must thus be considered arbitrary. Do we need one policeman and one judge, or 100,000 of each? Should they be paid $100 a month or $10,000? Should the policemen, however many we might have, spend more time patrolling the streets, chasing robbers, and recovering stolen loot, or spying on participants in victimless crimes such as prostitution, drug use, or smuggling? And should the judges spend more time and energy hearing divorce cases, traffic violations, cases of shoplifting, and murder, or antitrust cases? Clearly, all of these questions must be answered somehow because as long as there is scarcity and we do not live in the Garden of Eden, the time and money spent on one thing cannot be spent on another. The state must answer these questions, too, but whatever it does, it does it without being subject to the profit-and-loss criterion. Hence, its action is arbitrary and necessarily involves countless wasteful misallocations from the consumer’s viewpoint. Independent to a large degree of consumer wants, the state-employed security producers instead do, as everyone knows, what they like. They hang around instead of doing anything, and if they do work they prefer doing what is easiest or work where they can wield power rather than serving consumers. Police officers drive around a lot in cars, hassle petty traffic violators, and spend huge amounts of money investigating victimless crimes that many people (i.e., nonparticipants) do not like but that few would be willing to spend their money on to fight, as they are not immediately affected by them. Yet with respect to what consumers want most urgently—the prevention of hardcore crime (i.e., crimes with victims), the apprehension and effective punishment of hard-core criminals, the recovery of loot, and the securement of compensation of victims of crimes from the aggressors—the police are notoriously inefficient, in spite of ever higher budget allocations.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


Indeed, the arguments supposedly proving market failures are nothing short of patently absurd. Stripped of their disguise of technical jargon all they prove is this: A market is not perfect, as it is characterized by the nonaggression principle imposed on conditions marked by scarcity, and so certain goods or services that could only be produced and provided if aggression were allowed will not be produced. True enough. But no market theorist would ever dare deny this. Yet, and this is decisive, this “imperfection” of the market can be defended, morally as well as economically, whereas the supposed “perfections” of markets propagated by the public goods theorists cannot. It is true enough, too, that a termination of the state’s current practice of providing public goods would imply some change in the existing social structure and the distribution of wealth. And such a reshuffling would certainly imply hardship for some people. As a matter of fact, this is precisely why there is widespread public resistance to a policy of privatizing state functions, even though in the long run overall social wealth would be enhanced by this very policy. Surely, however, this fact cannot be accepted as a valid argument demonstrating the failure of markets. If a man has been allowed to hit other people on the bead and is now not permitted to continue with this practice, he is certainly hurt. But one would hardly accept that as a valid excuse for upholding the old (hitting) rules. He is harmed, but harming him means substituting a social order in which every consumer has an equal right to determine what and how much of anything is produced, for a system in which some consumers have the right to determine in what respect other consumers are not allowed to buy voluntarily what they want with the means justly acquired by them and at their disposal. And certainly, such a substitution would be preferable from the point of view of all consumers as voluntary consumers.

- Hans-Hermann Hoppe


CD140: OCEAN MINING WITH LUKE, MARK, JASON, AND MECHANIC

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https://cdn.satellite.earth/cc8a848120f73359f8314dd8ca26c72ca7efbb0c30e6409b79d5086f17c0b5aa.mp4


In which nostr:npub1art8cs66ffvnqns5zs5qa9fwlctmusj5lj38j94lv0ulw0j54wjqhpm0w5 and I introduce a new song... and highlight a few cool things from the Bitcoin Core v28 release.
https://fountain.fm/episode/3NQcPj1AdzBCfNhE7Bil


Jason Fry Plans for Peace By Preparing for National Divorce

https://fountain.fm/episode/ZzKeZNhLY1SfC30K21Lv


The more laws and restrictions there are,

The poorer people become.

The sharper men’s weapons,

The more trouble in the land.

The more ingenious and clever men are,

The more strange things happen.

The more rules and regulations,

The more thieves and robbers.

Therefore, the sage says:

I take no action and people are reformed.

I enjoy peace and people become honest.

I do nothing and people become rich.

I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.

https://mises.org/mises-wire/tao-and-synergy-spontaneous-order

nostr:nevent1qqsz6apkktk793qtw2waemd9h4p3p3z550r6mh54xsdcaezd30hpfgspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsyg82krn4d5etsz7dge8nmpztspqrqvr45yl2hs6enfmzexk84wglfupsgqqqqqqsfygwm6


Susanne Gibbs Gives a Quick Start Guide for Homeschooling Parents

https://fountain.fm/episode/j55GwejSvzTHe1qyZcov


WE'RE BACK MOFOS!!!🚨

It's time for Guy's Roundtable Part 2!
Looking back on the crazy month of September with
Coinbase paper BTC concerns,
Blackrock changing their T&Cs,
new custodians from traditional fiat land,
some bad news about mining decentralization,
some good news about mining decentralization,
privacy vs anonymity
& MORE!

Join myself, @`Simple Steve` @`Bitcoin Mechanic` and @`Jeff Swann` as we rip through the fog of war and bring you the #Bitcoin signal 🔥

https://m.primal.net/LLRU.gif

https://fountain.fm/episode/1bJR5egDBcLIVO43Rw5m


Paul Cwik's New Introduction to Austrian Business Cycle Theory

https://fountain.fm/episode/3wcjk3bY24xPLX1pdPyu


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/7JDFuhMEy9GwCKzMfAH1

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzqg57thd9v3r27ccnms80gc3w78w9q4c6jy8aq9ng3a9m2wwel8qlvcf9jc


Deep thinkers
https://video.nostr.build/aae5acc94658c799b9d37121b87ef9286f1a6bdcef2b23912a3c615e312ad891.mp4


The US government is the real natural disaster that our nation is drowning under.


Cronyism and Historical Revisionism

https://fountain.fm/episode/oi6IvU2zqlTdvNGuQI9x


Without government thugs, who would stop volunteer first responders from reaching disaster victims?


🎯 - I'm reading Breaking Away right now. Very approachable.


Although Western regimes like the United States like to talk a lot about self-determination for others outside the US itself, the regime and its supporters steadfastly deny that the nation contains any minority groups—ideological, religious, or otherwise—that ought to be granted autonomy in the fashion of colonized populations in Africa or Asia. Even when the Left emphasizes the existence of “oppressed minorities” the answer always lies in a larger, more active regime, and in promises of more democracy.

- Ryan McMaken


https://image.nostr.build/b088fb8cccf7cac60b6ff61a64d75dd85669ca7e6c1a2bd4cd99b84cc642944e.jpg
https://video.nostr.build/a142a214c3293c2e88fd4f0360d95e922bac6174a426073324f3324ccbad4d45.mp4


The recognition of the insuperable limits to his knowledge ought indeed to teach the student of society a lesson in humility which should guard him against becoming an accomplice in men’s fatal striving to control society—a striving which makes him not only a tyrant over his fellows, but which may well make him the destroyer of a civilization which no brain has designed but which has grown from the free efforts of millions of individuals.

— Friedrich A. Hayek


We are confronted by the appearance of social institutions unintentionally created, vital for the welfare of society, which are not the result of reasoned planning.

- Carl Menger


Tom Luongo on the Rival Factions Among Bankers

https://fountain.fm/episode/1zAKagUWZGEOeH6IC5Fl


Listening to people who want to destroy you:

You will sleep around & avoid responsibilities until you are old & lonely & you will blame the world's problems on people having kids.

You will follow corp health advice, end up sick, & you will blame the healthy.

You will support authoritarians, it will destroy all prosperity, & you will blame those who are still trying to keep some business alive.

You will be trapped in debt using devalued dollars & you will blame those who aren't.

Snap out of it, before it's too late.
#Bitcoin #Freedom


everyone has some type of magic inside them. If a person can find their magic and lovingly cultivate it, they'll truly feel alive every day.


There is no other possibility than either the order governed by the impersonal discipline of the market or that directed by the will of a few individuals; and those who are out to destroy the first are wittingly or unwittingly helping to create the second.

- F. A. Hayek


You’d have to ask him, but I highly doubt he’s implying that only credentialed economists have valid opinions. It seems more like he's venting after spending too much time in the Twitter comments section.


Yes lol


Yesterday, Tornado Cash judge stated code is not speech, non-custodial software providers can be money transmitters, and specific knowledge of criminal activity is not required to be charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering.

A breakdown of all the arguments:

https://www.therage.co/tornado-cash-code-not-speech-non-custodial-msbs-knowledge-not-required/


Stay humble, stack sats, and starve the State.

https://fountain.fm/episode/qltr6tLa6LUs458CTFnx

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzpzgjqmvqxnqpdua2xz2w5uwgmkgu53zytd9nt8yyfd5cfm7fwxh0k2dnk0


This is the Way

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Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.


The Three Doors: Which One Will Bitcoin Step Through?

nostr:nprofile1qqsrwseygwgtu5688flrkwudqnwws0mvj52tsx5e07emzg7qwthe77qpzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef00wfgm8

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/culture/the-three-doors-which-one-will-bitcoin-step-through


Why the Regime Hates Homeschooling

https://fountain.fm/episode/7SfYdwi6MOBC0ToaWvbI


"Bitcoin implicates the First Amendment. As a system for collecting and communicating
information ranging from payment data to art, bitcoin is speech. As a statement of protest against the government’s monopoly over money, bitcoin is expressive conduct. And as a collection of individuals that share bitcoin’s hard-coded principles of individual liberty, anti-censorship, and anti-debasement,
bitcoin is an expressive association."

nostr:nevent1qqsgfcpd8xyndtj2r4akrpunfwtuuky3j4c0y7m6dangc0uh82rs4qqpr4mhxue69uhkummnw3ezucnfw33k76twv4ezuum0vd5kzmp0qgsw3znfr6vdnxrujezjrhlkqqjlvpcqx79ys7gcph9mkjjsy7zsgygrqsqqqqqp5cth2e


How Government Propped Up Slavery

https://fountain.fm/episode/RSP4MwR9HicHkMKClin3


See you in the Void 🤙


nostr:nprofile1qqsqh808ch5z6fkzs45s5y7dzeq5nfdqaccnrwv39cwqhvmvv668r2cpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuurjd9kkzmpwdejhgtcfz5pfs on Bitcoin Privacy, Blockchain Analysis & Wasabi Wallet

nostr:nprofile1qqs9qp2dql3vmuetzq6hw77eeaeej2j2ughers22wch0m2jm7c05w4g7fd4xj

https://fountain.fm/episode/HuieFbBy5EnBQOjQiwd6


The case for individual freedom rests largely upon the recognition of the inevitable and universal ignorance of all of us concerning a great many of the factors on which the achievements of our ends and welfare depend.

— Friedrich Hayek


Socialists regard your property as their property, but even more nefariously they regard your children as their property.

— Michael Malice


The Power of Political Decentralization with Ryan McMaken

nostr:nprofile1qqspnlha0uuujmf07ahc0amz0tnez3dujuwc4v3jq5q9jwd94yfmctcpzpmhxue69uhkummnw3ezumt0d5hsz9thwden5te0wfjkccte9ehx7um5wghxyee0qywhwumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctv9uxrvvvv

https://fountain.fm/episode/pu2UYeFcE9i6NwurTTb4


Nothing is more securely lodged than the ignorance of the experts.

— Friedrich Hayek


Can Lightning Liquidity be Solved Using Liquid? Check out my latest ep with  nostr:npub1xyd5ja34s4nk0l6urnh69wx9ep6uuxz2ujrkm2f8n6pfhgqa6y5s2xn6n2 on this question

https://stephanlivera.com/episode/601/


Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

- C. S. Lewis


BBQ chicken pizza!  https://image.nostr.build/67b399751ef5def109393650db4598af0b1fc5e14c0b6d76580c3be6fab30654.jpg


Time is scarce. Every choice requires time, every action takes time, and time can only be spent once. Thus, time is a fundamental constraint in human action.

nostr:nevent1qqsqgk76qdrra8w8u8ke4d9ne5rvcu5kn408ekwae0yz74gu54hh0ggpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduhsygz7wrefw7npy9x7y92ctfqfl9vjuedarwqhwxg8qzhxrymmzq28xupsgqqqqqqs3na9pn


One of the greatest delusions in the world is the hope that the evils in this world are to be cured by legislation.

- Thomas B. Reed


Bitcoin Audible Chat 111 - Brollups, Ark 2.0, and 1000 tps with Burak

nostr:nprofile1qqstnem9g6aqv3tw6vqaneftcj06frns56lj9q470gdww228vysz8hqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ejxzmt4wvhxjmcjgxv3n

https://fountain.fm/episode/XCig5voZKm5HpbJrJXxm


The Origin of Money: Menger vs. Graeber

https://fountain.fm/episode/QhMtpOvW7o1rv0ifrcH4


Stay humble, stack sats, & starve the State

https://fountain.fm/episode/kTh6gIULW1zAB2GgPOEH

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzp2ucc6slc6yw9xkmy8p0lalwq0ut6xkv0rak8cruw5h3y05k9tkr8aw4ae


Stay humble, stack says, & starve the State

https://fountain.fm/episode/kTh6gIULW1zAB2GgPOEH

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzp2ucc6slc6yw9xkmy8p0lalwq0ut6xkv0rak8cruw5h3y05k9tkr8aw4ae


Once you admit that the individual is merely a means to serve the ends of the higher entity called society or the nation, most of those features of totalitarianism which horrify us follow of necessity.

— Friedrich Hayek


"The word (capitalism) is tainted. And when people in the streets of countries throughout the developing world chant out their opposition to “capitalism”—meaning, in reality, not genuine freedom but rather unjust dominance by Western powers and their privileged corporate cronies—I think it’s vital for advocates of liberty to be able to make clear that the system of statist oppression the protestors are naming isn’t the system we favor."

nostr:nevent1qqs2njt2wf79yg2pdvhdu68npt97q4hqwmv3q9vrhfhjj00ykgtc7wspzdmhxue69uhhwmm59e6hg7r09ehkuef0qgs0he0gpmydkhzrncjc94ten5j79l5tjk93ah6etgtn4cwg4t6xqacrqsqqqqqpj9daxm


Capitalist-entrepreneurs drive the economy forward in their desire to satisfy the demands of consumers. Capital goods themselves are the causes of economic growth and progress. Everything we see around us is the fruit of capital accumulation and saving by capitalists.

Rather than decry the term “capitalism,” we should be more willing to use the term than ever. Capitalists and capital are the cause of growth and progress. The whole of the market system relies upon them. Capitalism should be readily embraced by all defenders of free markets as a descriptive term. Capital is a central part of society. The term that Marx gave as a mark of derision is, in fact, a perfect descriptor of the benefits of the market system—one that advocates of free markets should make a term of pride.

https://mises.org/mises-wire/yes-we-should-defend-term-capitalism


Having kids magnifies this. Stay mindful of the moment and routinely count your blessings.


Bitcoin Audible Read_843 & 844 - Soft Fork, Covenant Review

nostr:nprofile1qqsve2jcud7fnjzmchn4gq52wx9agey9uhfukv69dy0v4wpuw4w53nqppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0x9n0tn
nostr:nprofile1qqstnem9g6aqv3tw6vqaneftcj06frns56lj9q470gdww228vysz8hqpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzrthwden5te0dehhxtnvdakqz9rhwden5te0wfjkccte9ejxzmt4wvhxjmcjgxv3n

https://fountain.fm/episode/ejj7Ll2L5L0ZmRuQj2ux

https://fountain.fm/episode/DBJ9UYwvO9FTNuDwaw9b


Dr. Jonathan Newman joins Bob to analyze Kamala Harris's proposals against price gouging, and how some mainstream economists defend Government price controls. They also address misconceptions about price gouging and the evolving mainstream narrative on inflation.

https://fountain.fm/episode/bI1NB218wIGXu7jcHpKP


Great @npub1h8nk2346qezka5cpm8jjh3yl5j88pf4ly2ptu7s6uu55wcfqy0wq36rpev's Take as always.

https://fountain.fm/episode/4RQ6p0eYBGtmjNfhoRp6

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzq6ygv7u52c7gwvpmne0vkmh92kdyatl9tlrvc0gzewjgnhl0y5ct0064vk


Great Guy's Take as always.

https://fountain.fm/episode/4RQ6p0eYBGtmjNfhoRp6

nostr:nevent1qvzqqqpxquqzq6ygv7u52c7gwvpmne0vkmh92kdyatl9tlrvc0gzewjgnhl0y5ct0064vk


The Classical Economists' Theory of Value Was More Sophisticated than You Think

Bob quotes from David Ricardo to show that the classical economists understood that utility was essential to explaining market value, but then he also explains why the Marginalist Revolution was a scientific advancement.

https://fountain.fm/episode/zDV748rbTHpW20gigJrV


Ryan McMaken and economist Jonathan Newman look at what happens when governments try to control prices. It turns out bad things happen.

https://fountain.fm/episode/SgawKoXjvXEjtmwpZZQt


Blaming price increases on corporate greed is like blaming plane crashes on gravity

https://fountain.fm/clip/LNMVquWxQADZhPJZhpqV

#inflation #fiat #economics


https://fountain.fm/episode/sUnwoGmWFHZx3FrlJMFw Great from Ryan McMaken. Mostly on Mises’ definition of “democracy” and how the term has been propagandized.


They are normal not in what may be called the absolute sense of the word; they are normal only in relation to a profoundly abnormal society.

Their perfect adjustment to that abnormal society is a measure of their mental illness.

- Aldous Huxley


"state-run media"


nostr:nprofile1qqsf2ds69dp2ympzhtpmdd46f3w2cnfkjphtpnaesf5xs8z95vqu2xqpzamhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumn0wd68ytnzv9hxgtcny8cm0 on Popular Bitcoin Myths

nostr:nprofile1qqs9qp2dql3vmuetzq6hw77eeaeej2j2ughers22wch0m2jm7c05w4g7fd4xj

https://fountain.fm/episode/FxItzUdZLz48Q6qETuQ1


"There can be no acceptable future without an honest analysis of the past."

- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn


"Left-wing politicians take away your liberty in the name of children and of fighting poverty, while right-wing politicians do it in the name of family values and fighting drugs. Either way, government gets bigger and you become less free."

- Harry Browne


Back to the fiat mines. ⛏


🥨 from scratch

#bake
#food
#pretzel

https://image.nostr.build/0083cb6d73f2e4fde52c4e8e9b6bfaba7a4e38712c3fbb1452f34d16e1c1920d.jpg


It’s not about being "most correct" but understanding that economic phenomena arise from complex, subjective interactions, making precise predictions impossible. The Austrian method emphasizes the limits of economic knowledge, rejecting the idea of economics as a purely objective science, and instead view it as a process of discovering and interpreting human action.


Thanks! I'm truly blessed. 🙏


❤❤❤ 854992 ❤❤❤