Cataracts: Controlling Capital Flows

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In this episode of 1Dime Radio, Benjamin Studebaker returns to lay out his case for a *supranational federation*, his answer to a problem that keeps resurfacing across both left and right politics: the limits of the nation-state in a world shaped by capital mobility, capital flight, interstate competition, and war. We break down Benjamin’s six-part “Why Federalism” series, why he thinks national governments cannot meaningfully tax capital or secure lasting peace on their own, and what kind of political system he thinks would actually be necessary to move beyond today’s global deadlock.

In The Backroom on Patreon, Benjamin gives his take on the phenomenon of Clavicular, looksmaxxing, dating culture, and the broader social collapse behind both. Part 2 of our conversation on the Supernational federation will also be available only on Patreon, in which I challenge Studebaker on some issues I have with his proposal. 

Timestamps:

00:00:00 The Backroom preview: looksmaxxing, Clavicular, and modern dating

00:03:11  Benjamin Studebaker returns, Why Federalism, and the limits of the nation-state

00:07:31  How competition makes political systems converge

00:10:37  From military competition to commercial competition

00:15:24  Why fear-based internationalism fails

00:20:20  Why even nationalist goals now require supranational politics

00:29:58  The democratic vs technocratic split

00:35:18  The Chamber of Labor and the Chamber of Status

00:42:25  Tribune, First Citizen, and global executive power

00:45:31  How could a supranational federation actually emerge?

00:51:01  Healthcare, universities, and organizing around concrete issues

01:08:56  Capital mobility, tax competition, and why national solutions get undercut

01:19:55  Medicare for All, capital, and the limits of monetary sovereignty alone

01:25:01  Why China has to be part of the project

01:30:04  Can nation-states build this, or would they sabotage it?

01:40:30  Why the left needs a positive vision, not just critique

01:48:24  Issue-based organizing, consumer unions, and a new political framework

GUEST:

Benjamin Studebaker, political theorist, PHD from Cambridge, author of The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: The Way Is Shut and Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies

• Website: https://benjaminstudebaker.com/

• X/Twitter: https://x.com/BMStudebaker

• The Chronic Crisis of American Democracy: https://link.springer.com/book/9783031950087

• Legitimacy in Liberal Democracies: https://edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-legitimacy-in-liberal-democracies.html

• Why Federalism, Part 1, The Problem that Needs to Be Solved: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-the-problem-that-needs-to-be-solved

• Why Federalism, Part 2, Creating the Cataracts: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-creating-the-cataracts

• Why Federalism, Part 3, The Unit Question: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-the-unit-question

• Why Federalism, Part 4, On Citizenship: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-on-citizenship

• Why Federalism, Part 5, On the Role of China: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-on-the-role-of-china

• Why Federalism, Part 6, The Conclusion: https://www.streitcouncil.org/post/why-federalism-the-conclusion

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