ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Paris Marx is joined by David Golumbia to discuss the ideology of cyberlibertarianism, the right-wing politics of cryptocurrencies and blockchains, and why the left shouldn’t embrace them.
David Golumbia is an associate professor at Virginia Commonwealth University and the author of “ The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism.” He’s also writing a new book called “Cyberlibertarianism” from Minnesota University Press. Follow David on Twitter as @dgolumbia.
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Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, support the show on Patreon, and sign up for the weekly newsletter, ⚒️ THE HAMMER ⚒️.
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Also mentioned in this episode:
- David wrote about cyberlibertarianism for Jacobin Magazine.
- Keith Spencer interviewed David about his book for Salon in 2018.
- Elon Musk’s tweets affect cryptocurrency prices, while China is cracking down on crypto mining.
- Marc Andreessen says “crypto is a right wing idea” in an interview with Noah Smith.
- El Salvador’s right-wing authoritarian president made Bitcoin a form of legal tender.
- Tether misled people about how much USD was backing its stablecoin.
- About 20% of Bitcoin — worth billions of dollars — is lost and recoverable.
- Other resources: Langdon Winner’s “Do Artifacts Have Politics?” and “Cyberlibertarian Myths and the Prospects for Community”; Richard Barbrook and Andy Cameron’s “The Californian Ideology”; Fred Turner’s “From Counterculture to Cyberculture”; Paula Borsook’s “Cyberselfish” (article); and John Perry Barlow’s “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.”
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