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 . 🚨 T-shirts are now available ! 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, and support the show on Patreon . Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com . 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 ”; Paulina Borsook’s “ Cyberselfish ” ( article ); and John Perry Barlow’s “ A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace .” Support the show