…warning, inherent conservative male bias

I never miss the chance to listen to Balaji Srinivasan, his turbo charged brain parses complex issues into a logical framework leveraging historical and scientific underpinnings.  Unfortunately, having an unabashed hatred for the liberal elite, he tends to blame them for the world’s ills and rarely holds the conservative right to task for their contribution to the destruction of democratic society.  He’s well worth a listen regardless.

The Knowledge Project Podcast

Balaji Srinivasan: The Network State [The Knowledge Project Ep. #134]

Clearly articulating the promise of decentralization, specifically how it relates to science and media, Srinivasan can’t escape his conservative bias when it comes to more nuanced topics.  His flawed beliefs about the trucker protest in Canada reminds us that even the polymaths don’t get it right all the time.  Believing that trucker protest was about mandatory vaccinations and that it was supported by the bulk of Canadians proves he’s willing to forgo the truth to try to push his libertarian ideals.  The fact that 44% of all funding came from outside Canada – specifically from small libertarian pockets in the US is never mentioned (For more:  How American right-wing funding for Canadian trucker protests could sway U.S. politics).  

Nor does he acknowledge that these protests were far beyond civil, legal protests; protestors occupied entire city blocks – preventing citizens’ ability to go about their daily lives in an orderly, safe and peaceful manner. They blocked access to civic infrastructure (bridges, malls, roads, hospitals and businesses) – causing economic harm to many business and people who could no longer work / operate due to the occupation.  Finally they held the general public hostage by a never-ending barrage of sound – they ceaselessly honked their horns and played (awful) music on stadium speakers day and night. 

Srinivasan’s insistence that the Canadian governments response to this internal and external terrorist threat was drastic and draconian only highlights the flaws of his gifted mind – he is unable to see the world outside his own agenda.  For more: Enfranchised Narcissists, fighting for the right to party.  

Describing woke politics like a virus that will take down democracy, Srinivasan never addresses how Silicon Valley’s libertarian ideals and the right wing assault on civil liberties (book bans, abortion bans, pandering to racism and homophobia) are the primary reason democracy is in peril.  For more:  Confuse & Obfuscate

But all that being said – it’s worth a listen if just to marvel at the speed of his mind.

Making Sense Podcast

#259 – THE RECKONING TO COME

It is a delight to listen to Sam Harris challenge Srinivasan on his core ideology – that tokenized decentralized organizations enforced by smart contracts on an immutable blockchain can replace government institutions.  Sam’s calm and clever responses highlight how civil society was founded by good government and require centralization for stability and safety.  Sam successfully counters that the block chain, as a decentralizing force, cannot successfully replace government institutions without losing the essence of civility.

Tim Ferriss Show Podcast

Balaji Srinivasan — Centralized China vs Decentralized World, The DeFi Matrix, Ascending vs Descending Trends, Bitcoin Mining as Energy Storage, Reputational Civil War, and Maximalism vs. Optimalism (#547)

While promoting the value of decentralization, Srinivasan gives us mere mortals a glimpse of the future in a very enjoyable, mind-meddling way. 

Alternative Title to this post:  Balaji Srinivasan has some IDE’R’s