The Philosophy of Money with Andrew Bailey

 
 

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“Bitcoin isn’t like a new theory about what kinds of money are possible, it’s more like a bulldozer that says: you’re all wrong, you need more tools to think properly about money; here’s a totally new kind of money that is kind of like fiat, kind of like gold and kind of like neither.”
— Andrew Bailey

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Andrew Bailey is a philosopher, professor, fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, and co-founder of Resistance Money. In this interview, we discuss the philosophy of money in respect of what it is, what makes good money, the traps we can fall into with money, and why Bitcoin is a bulldozer that makes us rethink money anew.

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Economists, historians, philosophers, bankers and politicians have all contended with the concept of money. What it is, what it can be, what it’s not, what it’s useful for, how it should be used, how it can be misused: there are a myriad of questions that have spurned a myriad of theories. Consensus has formed around different ideas lasting for generations, only to be followed by sudden shifts as perceived universal truths are dissolved.

Debates and evolving thinking around money have always been a feature of its existence, certainly within modern capitalist structures of the past few hundred years. And yet, we do seem to be in a rare period. Firstly, we are entering a new paradigm of money, when established norms are suddenly being uprooted. Secondly, laypeople are joining the ranks of the so-called specialists in the debate around money.

This change has been spurned by the failures of fiat money. Suddenly, people realise that the assumed solid ground is shifting beneath them. Within a short space of time, we have experienced a flurry of unprecedented events: bank runs, money printing on a vast scale, massive stimulus packages, huge volatility in the markets, systemic inflation, and currency collapses.

The debate has also been spurned by the revolutionary innovation of Bitcoin. A totally new form of money has enabled a reevaluation of the principles and qualities of what we use to store value and what we use to exchange value. This process is being undertaken at all levels: if Bitcoin can continue to flourish, it will serve as a check on those in power. It could for the first time enable money to become pluralistic.

All this means we are living in a time when the debate around money is live and fluid in which we all get a say. Buying Bitcoin, developing Bitcoin and orange pilling are all positive actions that force us to consider these fundamental questions. And, in this process, we’ll find we are asking the most fundamental questions of all - what is the essence of a good life and how does money help to achieve that end?

TIMESTAMPS

00:02:08: Introductions
00:04:28: Roger Ver, Adam Smith, and the political economy
00:11:30: Teaching economics, and Keynes
00:15:20: Teaching Bitcoin, and being taught to question
00:22:57: Are we wrong about Bitcoin?
00:28:59: Money capture akin to audience capture
00:33:43: Wealth vs happiness
00:40:30: The nature of money
00:46:58: Transition to Bitcoin
00:52:03: The Bitcoin haters, and Bitcoin podcasts
01:02:42: What is money?
01:12:39: Money and time
01:20:15: The future of Bitcoin and its ultimate mission
01:32:12: Money and the myth of happiness
01:47:24: What Bitcoin Did
01:53:46: The ethics of money
01:59:18: Marxism, and the role of markets
02:06:30: Wealth inequality, distributive justice, and Inheritance
02:26:40: The most important question
02:29:28: Resistance Money
02:32:22: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

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