E52: David Friedman on Anarcho-Capitalism, Utilitarianism, and Inequality

"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

This week on Upstream, Erik is joined by David Friedman for a deep dive on anarcho-capitalism, utilitarianism, and more. To get Brave: Head to https://brave.com/brave-ads/ and mention “MoZ” when signing up for a 25% discount on your first campaign.

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Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns

Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more,

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(00:46) The Friedman Family's Intellectual Lineage

(03:18) Market Failures and Government Intervention

(06:11) Privatizating Everything

(09:33) The Mechanics of Anarcho-Capitalism

(12:47) Why David Isn't a Utilitarianism

(16:33) Midroll: Brave | Turpentine

(18:19) David's Moral Framework

(23:36) Is Global Coordination Possible?

(30:46) Privatizing Military and National Defense

(32:54) Addressing Poverty in an Anarcho-Capitalist World

(35:40) Competitive Dictatorship

(40:54) Historical Precedents for Private Law

(42:31) The Inefficiency of Governments

(44:06) Coordination under Decentralization vs Centralization & Surveillance Capitalism

(55:07) Law & Punishment under Anarcho-Capitalism

(58:28) The Problems with Restorative Justice

(01:07:31) Addressing Common Criticisms of Market Systems

(01:14:41) Exploring the Moral Case for Economic Growth

(01:16:26) Existential Risks from Global Warming, AI, Nanotech, and Biotech

(01:18:49) The Market's Short-Term vs. Long-Term Dilemma

(01:20:13) Utilitarian Thought Experiment

(01:22:03) Income Sharing Agreements

(01:26:20) Equality of Opportunity vs. Outcome

(01:30:15) Why Do We Care about Equality?

(01:47:40) Anarcho-Capitalism and Crypto

(01:51:04) David's Legacy

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LINKS:

David's Website: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/

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X / TWITTER:

https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg (Erik)

https://twitter.com/Upstream__Pod (Upstream)

https://twitter.com/TurpentineMedia (Turpentine)

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Upstream is a production from Turpentine

Producer: Sam Kaufman

Editor: Eul Jose Lacierda

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