Liberty Curious

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand spoke with Allen Mendenhall, author, lawyer, Associate Dean and Professor in the Sorrell College of Business at Troy University. He teaches a free market, non-woke business course that has gained significant clout, leading anti-woke ESG advocates to seek his aid and testimony for an anti-ESG investment bill. His advocacy for economic freedom led to the banking crony ESG profiteers to go on a coordinated witch-hunt against him to try and get him cancelled.Allen’s story attests to the power of the Individual. They spoke about how ESG is a segue into global governance, the growing decentralized resistance against hyper-centralization, and how one person taking a principled stand is a great equalizer against the most corrupt concentrations of power. https://allenmendenhall.com/https://twitter.com/allenmendenhall0:00 - intro1:20 - anti-ESG business program3:43 - policy debates around ESG6:33 - the Witchhunt begins9:55 - Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard lobbyists12:49 - The risk of bank runs14:50 - Global Coordination of Financial Institutions20:10 - Sri Lanka as a Target24:33 - Incentives for ESG27:19 - Stakeholder Capitalism30:22 - Unprecedented Power32:50 - CBDCs & ESG37:30 - Decentralization vs Centralization42:47 - The Power of the Individual48:56 - All Powerful Nation State Parallels52:05 - Milton Friedman vs. Klaus Schwab54:21 - USA vs Europe for ESG58:11 - The Nation State & Global Concatenation 1:00:00 - The outcome of Allen's battle1:03:12 - Lord of the Rings parallels1:08:46 - Last thoughtsaier.org/podcasts*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***Milton Friedman's essay: https://www.nytimes.com/1970/09/13/archives/a-friedman-doctrine-the-social-responsibility-of-business-is-to.html

When big corporations like Target or Bud Light go blatantly Woke, to the detriment of their shareholders and profits, you might ask yourself what exactly they are doing, and why.This is where ESG comes in. ESG is Environment, Social, and Governance, three pillars of a pervasive type of corporate social credit score that businesses are pressured or incentivized to abide by. On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand invited Samuel Gregg, Distinguished Fellow in Political Economy at AIER, to discuss the origins of ESG, how its being applied, and its ties to the UN SDGs and the World Economic Forum. They also explore its role in reflecting, promoting, and shaping Woke ideology. 0:00 - intro1:55 - Origins of ESG4:03 - Stakeholder Capitalism6:45 - How did ESG ascend so quickly?11:15 - The Great Reset13:33 - the ESG Cartel & Central Planning21:40 - How did the UN & WEF become so powerful?25:25 - America's Achilles Heel31:05 - Malthusian Flavour of ESG35:40 - Carbon Markets & 'Green' Economy38:00 - Why would you destroy your company?46:46 - Confronted with Reality51:43 - Legal Solutions in Corporate Law56:06 - Europe's Self-Inflicted Decline58:32 - Hope for America?1:00:43 - Last Thoughtsaier.org/podcastsSamuel Gregg on Twitter: twitter.com/drsamuelgregghttps://www.aier.org/people/samuel-gregg/*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***

In this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand invited Phil Magness to discuss the origins of critical theory, which is a neo-Marxist school of thought born in the Frankfurt School in 1923. Phil is the director of research and education at AIER, and a prolific researcher on these kinds of ideas. They discuss the history of critical theory, and how it has proliferated through academia and into our culture, manifesting itself as what we commonly refer to as Woke ideology. *** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***aier.org/podcasts0:00 - intro1:50 - what is Critical Theory?5:04 - Offshoot of Marxism11:07 - Frankfurt School19:20 - Marxism Splits23:30 - from Economics to Sociology27:45 - Incoherence29:28 - Coming to America35:26 - Critical Theory vs. Traditional Theory38:09 - The Ambitions of Critical Theorists45:30 - Last thoughts50:30 - Bonus question: Utopia

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand invites Bruce Pardy to discuss the origins of the Woke virus of the mind: critical theory, social justice, postmodernism and critical race theory.Bruce explains identity politics, power relationships, victimhood, and all the pillars of Critical Theory, a school of thought that has infiltrated our culture, institutions and society. We explore how this has all developed, touch on topics like the 'death of God', trans-humanism, morality, intersectionality, and how woke culture is, at its core, an attack on Western civilization.Bruce Pardy is a professor of law and executive director of Rights Probe, a law and liberty think tank. He is a classically liberal legal academic who believes in equal treatment under the law, negative rights, private property, limited government, and the separation of powers, which are foundational to the Western legal tradition. He is a critic of legal progressivism, social justice, and the discretionary managerial state, and has written extensively on a range of pressing legal subjects that are at the forefront of the culture war inside the law."Modern Western civilization grew out of the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries. The ascendancy of reason in human affairs produced the scientific method and later the Industrial Revolution. Add in the rule of law, individual liberty, private property, and capitalism, and you have the basic recipe that has raised much of humanity out of poverty and oppression over two centuries.Four academic doctrines—Critical Theory, Postmodernism, Social Justice, and Critical Race Theory—are moving the world, or at least the West, from this triumph to decline. These doctrines reject Enlightenment values such as open inquiry, individual autonomy, free speech, scientific skepticism, and even reason itself. They claim to champion equality, peace, and social cooperation, but instead promote identity politics, elitism, and centralized control. They are the four doctrines of the apocalypse." - Bruce Pardyhttps://www.theepochtimes.com/bruce-pardy-the-four-doctrines-of-the-apocalypse-critical-theory-and-our-compromised-institutions_5355971.htmlaier.org/podcasts *** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***

In this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand invites Dr. Ryan Yonk to discuss the contentious and hotly debated recent Supreme Court rulings on affirmative action, student loan debt forgiveness, and freedom of speech. They discuss the details and nuances of the historic and significant Harvard Affirmative Action Case, Biden vs. Nebraska, and 303 Creative. Kate also asks Ryan a big picture question: is the law downstream from culture, or is the culture downstream from the law?aier.org/podcastshttps://www.aier.org/people/ryan-m-yonk/*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***0:00 - intro1:22 - Harvard Affirmative Action Case10:58 - Biden VS Nebraska19:17 - 303 Creative33:15 - Is culture downstream from the law?38:02 - Last thoughts

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Thomas Hogan, to discuss what he coined the SEC’s illegal war against crypto. Tom is senior research faculty at AIER and former chair to the senate committee on banking, housing & urban affairs. Thomas explains how "the SEC has charged crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase with facilitating the trade of unregistered securities. Yet the opacity of the statute as it pertains to crypto and the SEC’s arbitrary and contradictory application have made compliance with the law impossible."*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***WEF Whitepaper on Crypto: https://www.weforum.org/whitepapers/pathways-to-crypto-asset-regulation-a-global-approach/ 0:00 - intro0:42 - operation chokepoint 2.02:17 - SEC sues Binance and Coinbase3:32 - CBDCs4:47 - Crypto & blockchain10:15 - Market-driven innovation13:35 - Blackrock & Big Traditional Players15:08 - The particulars of the case24:37 - WEF Whitepaper on Crypto32:20 - Prometheum34:12 - FTX 2.0?38:00 - Gary Gensler's weird relationships42:20 - Last thoughts on Crypto industryaier.org/podcasts

Where did Bitcoin come from? Since the mysterious conception of Bitcoin following the 2008 financial crisis, people have been trying to figure out who created it, and why. Joining Kate Wand on Liberty Curious is independent thinker & writer Emile Phaneuf, to discuss the origins of Bitcoin, and its philosophical influences including the writings of Hayek, Ayn Rand and David Friedman. Emile writes on matters of money and cryptocurrency and has spent well over a decade working in international business development around the world.Emile explains that Hayek imagined how private enterprise could compete with the long withstanding government monopoly on money to create better choices for the people. He draws parallels as to how Bitcoin is an example of decentralization in the Information Age, and how this kind of technology has the potential to disrupt the status quo. To begin, we delve into the potential motives of the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.Emile Phaneuf's articles discussed in this podcast:https://www.aier.org/article/hayek-and-bitcoin/https://www.aier.org/article/cypherpunks-galts-gulch-and-bitcoin/https://www.aier.org/article/anarchy-and-bitcoin/Emile Phaneuf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/EconEmileemilephaneuf.com*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***0:00 - Introduction0:23 - Origins of Bitcoin and philosophical influences2:15 - Influence of Hayek, Rand, and Friedman5:06 - Decentralization and disruptive potential of Bitcoin6:43 - Concealment of Satoshi Nakamoto's identity8:28 - Hayek's argument for denationalization of currency10:02 - Government monopolization and the public's lack of choice11:56 - Algorithmic monetary policy of Bitcoin19:14 - The Machinery of Freedom25:03 - Parallel Financial System29:26 - CBDC32:31 - The Revolt of the Public44:20 - Absolute Control47:05 - Final Thoughtsaier.org/podcasts

Karl Marx’s theories sparked the Russian Revolution in 1917. His communist ideology was foundational to the USSR, and other oppressive regimes, which led to the state murder of hundreds of millions of people. Yet despite the 20th century Marxist democide, Marx remains one of the most popular so-called intellectual figures of the last century, up to this day. “Appearing in 3,856 syllabi as of 2015, Marx’s Communist Manifesto is consistently among the most frequently assigned texts in American college classrooms.” But what if the Russian Revolution had never happened? Would anyone today even know who Karl Marx was? And is there a way to measure that empirically? Phillip Magness, the director of research and education at AIER and his colleague Michael Makovi set out to do just that. What did they discover? In this episode of Liberty Curious, you are going to find out. What I really wanted to ask Phil first was, “Who was Karl Marx?”*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***The Mainstreaming of Marx: Measuring the Effect of the Russian Revolution on Karl Marx’s Influence: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/722933Das Karl Marx Problem: https://www.aier.org/article/das-karl-marx-problem/When Lenin Read a Book on Marx: https://www.aier.org/article/when-lenin-read-a-book-on-marx/Phil Magness on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilWMagnessaier.org/podcasts0:00 - intro1:18 - Who was Karl Marx?4:24 - Who influenced Marx?7:43 - Marx's obscurity11:47 - Surplus Value15:08 - Russian Revolution20:00 - Straight into Communism22:24 - Democratic Socialism26:33 - Cult of Marxism after 191733:50 - Totalitarianism37:05 - Technocracy39:05 - Neo-Marxism / Critical Theory43:22 - Research: The Mainstreaming of Marx51:20 - What ifs?52:15 - the 1916 project55:50 - Times of Crisis59:16 - Russian Revolution vs. American Revolution1:02:26 - Collectivism vs. Individualism1:03:44 - Last thoughts

On this episode of Liberty Curious, Robert Wright, historian, joins Kate Wand to discuss two Great Resets. In his research he has discovered striking resemblances between the New Deal under FDR in the 1930s, and the modern day Great Reset. This begs the question: is history repeating itself?Robert Wright explores the parallels between the New Deal era and the current situation. The New Deal was a period of significant change in the relationship between the federal government and individuals in America. It marked a shift from a society focused on individual liberty to one where people looked to the government for solutions to problems. The federal government gained more power, while individual liberties were curtailed.The parallels between then and now are examined through ten points. The first point is the state control of mass media. In the past, newspapers, movies, radio, and theater were used to vilify critics of administration policies. Today, social media platforms like Twitter are accused of censoring speech, labeling certain views as extremist or pro-enemies, similar to how critics were labeled during the New Deal era.The second point is the augmentation of state surveillance and law enforcement. The increase in government surveillance and the expansion of agencies like the National Security Administration (NSA), CIA, and the passing of acts like the Patriot Act are reminiscent of the increase in the FBI's power during the New Deal era. The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, tracked and harassed individuals who were considered threats to the administration.Other points in the video discuss the expansion of government control over the economy, such as through regulations, government intervention, and the confiscation of gold. The video also touches on the use of crisis and war to expand government power, the increase in government spending and debt, the centralization of power in the executive branch, and the erosion of constitutional limits on government power.Overall, the video suggests that there are parallels between the New Deal era and the current situation, highlighting the expansion of government power and the potential threats to individual liberties.0:00 - Intro1:40 - The New Deal8:40 - State Control of Mass Media16:36 - Augmentation of State Surveillance18:29 - Division of People by Class26:20 - Disruption of Food Creation & Distribution29:18 - New Monetary System36:17 - Economic Coercion to Achieve State Goals44:36 - Invisible Enemies47:16 - Physical War & the Ratchet Effect49:44 - Taxes51:49 - Misuse of Congressional Hearings53:53 - Big Picture: Two Great Resets1:00:40 - Last Thoughts*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***aier.org/podcastsaier.org

What role does the state have in imposing its morality on individuals? What role should it have? How much should government control our lives?On this episode of Liberty Curious, Kate Wand sat down with Jason Sorens, Senior Research Faculty at AIER, co-author of Freedom in the 50 States, and founder of the Free State Project, to discuss how much government interferes with our daily lives. Sorens claims that adults should be treated like adults, and not children, but the government often does the very opposite. They also talk about how to approach issues from a libertarian perspective, such as life-altering medical procedures for kids, hard drugs, tobacco, and where to draw the line on externalities. Jason also talks about the New Hampshire Free State Project, and how liberty-oriented people can foster freedom at the local level. https://www.aier.org/article/treating-adults-like-children/*** Please note that the opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and her guests. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Institute for Economic Research. The content presented in this show is intended for educational purposes only, and should not be considered as financial advice. ***aier.org/podcasts0:00 - intro1:04 - founding debates5:52 - relationship between government & citizens7:49 - free state project12:44 - red states vs new hampshire15:13 - moral arguments for liberty20:15 - treating adults like children23:28 - education system trickle26:35 - prohibition of drugs31:32 - externalities36:16 - rights of the majority vs individual41:18 - family relationships trickle into society44:24 - dealing with life-altering procedures for children48:35 - school choice52:34 - last thoughts