Seeing crypto for what it is and how to live with contradiction with Brett Scott

The Blockchain Socialist

In this episode I spoke with Brett Scott, an independent scholar, writer, and defender of physical cash from a left point of view. Brett was involved in the early Bitcioin communities and one of the first guests of the podcast back in 2020 so it was nice to be able to talk to him again after so many years and since his latest book Cloudmoney was published.
During the interview we discussed how the monetary system actually works, the contradictions of libertarian money fantasies, and his recent writing on crypto titled Zero is the Future of Money. Be sure to check out Brett's great Substack to learn more about his work on money.
If you liked the podcast be sure to give it a review on your preferred podcast platform. If you find content like this important consider donating to my Patreon starting at just $3 per month. It takes quite a lot of my time and resources so any amount helps. Follow me on Twitter (@TBSocialist) or Mastodon (@[e-mail]) and join the r/CryptoLeftists subreddit and Discord to join the discussion.

Send me your questions or comments about the show and I'll read them out sometime.

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ICYMI I've written a book about, no surprise, blockchains through a left political framework! The title is Blockchain Radicals: How Capitalism Ruined Crypto and How to Fix It and is being published through Repeater Books, the publishing house started by Mark Fisher who’s work influenced me a lot in my thinking.
The book is officially published and you use this linktree to find where you can purchase the book based on your region / country.

Capitole

1. Seeing crypto for what it is and how to live with contradiction with Brett Scott (00:00:00)

2. Exploring Money and Bitcoin's Ideological Wars (00:00:08)

3. Contradictions in Anthropology and Finance (00:09:12)

4. Understanding Political Differences and Emotional Resonance (00:15:29)

5. Exploring the Politics of Money (00:22:20)

6. The Monetary System and Cryptocurrency (00:29:39)

7. Libertarian Thought and Money Creation Contradictions (00:38:40)

8. Banking's Role in the Economy (00:45:11)

9. Bitcoin as Counter-Trade and Digital Collectibles (01:00:04)

10. Layers of Money and Token Categories (01:12:09)

11. The Future of Money and Combining Monetary Systems (01:21:14)

12. Debt and Mutual Credit Systems (01:30:19)

13. Individual Imagination and Mutual Credit Systems (01:39:29)

14. Politics and Metaphors of Money (01:49:26)