America’s Role in the New World Order with Natalie Smolenski

 
 

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“People have forgotten what a freedom to transact means…without having to involve a third party intermediary, without having to prove my identity to some panopticon, without having to demonstrate that I’m a good and loyal subject. No, the government is subject to me, I am the source of sovereignty, you are the source of sovereignty. So let’s take that back.”
— Natalie Smolenski

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Natalie Smolenski is an Executive Director of the Texas Bitcoin Foundation and a Fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute. In this interview, we discuss why America needs to be re-found. We talk about the self-destructive impacts of striving for supremacy, what the American project stands for, trying to build solidarity across the divide, and the importance of Bitcoin.

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The great irony of the twentieth century is that in winning the cold war America has lost its way. Far from the defeat of the Soviet Union being a stepping stone to cementing US hegemonic power, within a generation, we are seeing a fracturing of the global order and the decline of western liberal democracies. The importance of the American dream as a projection of soft power has waned.

In the face of a multi-polar world and a wave of significant issues that need urgent action, politicians are losing confidence in trying to win the battle of ideas. The race seems to be about winning the battle of technology without going bankrupt. Optimism and hope have been replaced by cold strategic pragmatism.

Endless wars have dulled Americans’ enthusiasm for being that shining city on the hill. But, is this myopic thinking? The long lens of history shows that the projection of America as a beacon of hope was through manifestations of the principles of liberty, equality and justice on which the country was founded. America became a magnet for the strivers of the world. Can it become so again?

What is clear is that prior to renewing its confidence as a global power that champions freedom, America needs to heal the domestic divides. A nation needs to be united internally if it is to thwart external threats. This means finding new ways to engage and identifying new leaders to take ideas forward. It also means embracing again the old ways of thinking: that America’s “glory is not dominion, but liberty.”

TIMESTAMPS

00:01:46: Introductions
00:03:22: Time to Re-found the America Republic
00:05:40: Triffin Dilemma
00:15:43: From Poland to the US
00:20:01: America withdrawing from role of world police
00:24:57: America's economic imperialism
00:33:40: The rise of socialism, and the importance of capitalism
00:41:45: The success of China and its future global role
00:52:22: US needs new leadership
01:01:52: Broken incentives and the need for collaboration
01:09:21: The American project, and immigration
01:17:55: Brexit and the EU
01:21:06: Maintaining a united US
01:26:26: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

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Mentioned in the interview:

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