What Do Economists Get Wrong About Bitcoin with Josh Hendrickson - WBD606
The Peter McCormack Show
Peter McCormack
4.7 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2023
⏱️ 94 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Dr. Josh Hendrickson is an associate professor of economics and chair of the Economics Department at the University of Mississippi. In this interview, we discuss how Bitcoin has influenced his economic teaching, the importance of Bitcoin in the current unprecedented global debt bubble, and why people continue to dismiss Bitcoin.
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"Bitcoin and the entire process that led up to it was motivated by the desire to make the world a better place and internet commerce more private. It was a true technological innovation. The market will decide what that innovation is worth." We're used to hearing such statements from ardent Bitcoiners. But this statement was made by Dr Josh Hendrickson, an economics professor who chairs a University Economics Department at one of the US's top public universities.
Bitcoin is still dismissed by a significant number of well-placed people within society. We hear from many people who are passionate about Bitcoin but feel unable to discuss this within their work networks for fear of ridicule that could harm their career paths. This is why having esteemed individuals from traditional academic backgrounds advocating for Bitcoin is so critical.
A professorship is a hard-won title. It takes years of graft. The history of academia is littered with stories of people being ostracised for taking left-field positions. Therefore, academics, particularly professors and department chairs, are not ones for throwing weight behind ideas that are not inherently sound or principled. So, as with the growing list of people BPI has been attracting, these academics provide the solid rationalisation of Bitcoin's thesis.
This is not to state that there is a consensus within these groups regarding Bitcoin's path over the coming years and decades. We live in tumultuous times. The world's economic and political landscape is at the mercy of an almost limitless number of changing variables. But, there is a growing consensus that Bitcoin is a unique innovation, a new form of money with the potential to protect those who need it most. All other debates to justify Bitcoin should fall by the wayside.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | There's this weird thing with economists, right? Like we always talk about, oh, |
| 0:08.5 | monopoly is bad. Competition is good. But then when it comes to money we're like oh no no just the Federal |
| 0:13.9 | Reserve can do the money. Hello there from Austin Texas how are you all doing? |
| 0:18.4 | You're keeping well. I'm out here now making a film we finished finished our sprint of shows that I was making with Danny and I'm working on the next part of my Follow the Money series which is a show all about Bitcoin mining and energy. |
| 0:32.4 | I'm here in Austin tomorrow we head out to Dallas and then I'm off to Tulsa. |
| 0:36.6 | I've got loads of sites we're going to be visiting. |
| 0:38.6 | I'm really excited to make this. |
| 0:40.0 | Anyway, welcome to the What Bitcoin did podcast, which is brought to you by |
| 0:43.3 | Gemini, the only place I'm using for buying Bitcoin. I'm your host Peter McCormack, |
| 0:47.1 | and today I've got Josh Hindrixon on the phone. Now this is an interview |
| 0:51.0 | that Danny brought to me. He is an associate professor of economics and with Josh I really wanted to dig into what actually means, how he teaches, especially as somebody who cares or understands about Bitcoin, what relevance that has to what he's teaching to his students. |
| 1:04.5 | So we dig into that, but we get into a whole bunch of things we discuss, sovereign debt, |
| 1:08.8 | inflation, inflation, and what Bitcoin can be. |
| 1:12.4 | We also get into what economists get wrong about |
| 1:14.6 | Bitcoin which is the title of the show, so which is very cool. Listen if you've got |
| 1:18.4 | any questions about this or anything else please do reach out to me. I've received |
| 1:21.8 | so many emails about the show I made with Odelles. |
| 1:23.9 | Unbelievable. I must have been over a hundred. So if haven't got back to you yet, please do accept my |
| 1:27.9 | apology. I will reply soon. I'm gradually working through them. But if you do want to discuss this or anything, |
| 1:32.4 | please do get in touch. |
| 1:34.0 | Okay, on to Josh, hope you enjoy the show. |
| 1:36.0 | Josh, hi, how are you? |
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