One thing that came to mind while listening to the pod was that George assumes that people’s behavior (seeking debt, yield and, voting for debasement) will remain the same (or to the same extent) under a new system (bitcoin standard). While it is true that human nature (greed, etc.) will not change, I think it’s clear that bitcoin changes the incentives which in turn changes human action. The lowering of time preference via hard money is a powerful factor that many in the current system are sleeping on.

I did not understand why he thinks that any amount of fractional reserve banking is somehow a sign that a bitcoin standard is not tenable, or that the existence of paper bitcoin somehow diminishes the effects an alternate system will have on the world.

What better way to get people to vote for small government than forcing them to tax you kore because they can’t print the difference.

Jeff, I was, as usual, impressed by your patience and calmness during this interview. It was difficult to see George’s inability to consider some of the counters you were presenting. I don’t know if the cause of his blind spot was ego or the fact his YouTube content of yelling at the system is his way of making a living. It seems clear to me he just hasn’t spent enough time learning about bitcoin beyond its lesser significant attribute of fiat gains. George seems like a pretty smart and decent person. Hopefully one day he will try to clear his mind and do the work.