Kinsella On Liberty
Stephan Kinsella
Austro-Anarchist Libertarian Legal Theory
Episodes
Mentioned books
Dec 18, 2019 • 2h 11min
KOL280 | Fallible Animals Ep. 12: Property Rights, Argumentation Ethics, and Praxeology, with Logan Chipkin
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 280.
This is my appearance on the Fallible Animals podcast, Episode 12: Property Rights, Argumentation Ethics, and Praxeology with Stephan Kinsella (Apple podcasts; Spotify version; Youtube version embedded below), with host Logan Chipkin.
From Logan's shownotes:
"Joining me today is patent attorney and libertarian theorist Stephan Kinsella. Mr. Kinsella is the author of the book, Against Intellectual Property, and is the founder and director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom. He is also the founder and editor of Libertarians Papers, and he’s a member of the Editorial Board of Reason Papers.
We cover a wide range of specific topics, from property rights, argumentation ethics, whether or not praxeology is falsifiable, common arguments against the existence or morality of anarcho-capitalism, and potential connections between praxeology, free will, and constructor theory.
Stephan Kinsella's website - https://stephankinsella.com
Stephan Kinsella's Twitter - https://twitter.com/NSKinsella
Mises: Keep It Interesting - https://mises.org/wire/mises-keep-it-interesting
A Libertarian Theory of Contract: Title Transfer, Binding Promises, Inalienability - https://mises.org/library/libertarian-theory-contract-title-transfer-binding-promises-inalienability-0
How We Come to Own Ourselves - https://mises.org/library/how-we-come-own-ourselves
Against Intellectual Property - https://mises.org/library/against-intellectual-property-0
Twitter - https://twitter.com/ChipkinLogan
Website - www.loganchipkin.com
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/Fallibleanimals "
See also Barry Smith, "In Defense of Extreme (Fallibilistic) Apriorism" (1996).
Nov 25, 2019 • 1h 31min
KOL278 | Bob Murphy Show: Debating Hans Hoppe’s “Argumentation Ethics”
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 278.
I was a guest on Episode 79 of The Bob Murphy Show, entitled "Stephan Kinsella and Bob Murphy Debate Hans Hoppe’s “Argumentation Ethics”. Back in June we discussed IP and related issues [KOL268 | Bob Murphy Show: Law Without the State, and the Illegitimacy of IP]. We had intended to discuss argumentation ethics but ran out of time. So we did it in this episode. I think it turned out very well.
[Update: Ep. 86 Further Thoughts on Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics and Essays on Praxeology ]
From Bob's show notes:
By popular demand, Bob brings Stephan back on the podcast, this time to debate Hans Hoppe’s famous “argumentation ethics” case for libertarianism. Stephan defends Hoppe’s claim that any attempt to justify a NON-libertarian system would result in a performative contradiction, while Bob clarifies the argument and raises concerns about it.
Mentioned in the Episode and Other Links of Interest:
The YouTube video for this interview.
Hans Hoppe’s talk on argumentation ethics at his Property & Freedom Society.
The 1988 Liberty symposium on Hoppe’s argumentation ethics.
Stephan Kinsella’s concise guide to Hoppe’s argument and its critics.
Bob Murphy and Gene Callahan’s critique of argumentation ethics in the Journal of Libertarian Studies, and Stephan Kinsella’s response.
Stephan’s earlier appearance on ep. 39 of the Bob Murphy Show, talking about private law and Intellectual Property.
Help support the Bob Murphy Show.
See also:
“Dialogical Arguments for Libertarian Rights,” in The Dialectics of Liberty (Lexington Books, 2019)
Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics and Its Critics, StephanKinsella.com (Aug. 11, 2015)
Lecture 3 of my 2011 Mises Academy course, “The Social Theory of Hoppe” (slides here)
Lecture 2 of my 2011 Mises Academy course, “Libertarian Legal Theory: Property, Conflict, and Society” (slides here)
The Genesis of Estoppel: My Libertarian Rights Theory, StephanKinsella.com (March 22, 2016)
Defending Argumentation Ethics: Reply to Murphy & Callahan, Anti-state.com (Sept. 19, 2002)
“Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide,” Mises Daily (May 27, 2011)
Nov 17, 2019 • 1h 4min
KOL277 | AFF Phoenix Debate: Intellectual Property Rights: Yay or Nay?
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 277.
I participated in a debate sponsored by America's Future Foundation-Phoenix this past Thursday, Nov. 14, against local patent attorney Maria Crimi Speth. This is the audio from my iPhone. Probably inferior. I'll release better quality media if it becomes available later.
Nov 14, 2019 • 44min
KOL276 | La Sierra University: Abolish Intellectual Property Law
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 276.
This is my speech delivered for the Troesh Talk, part of the Business Colloquium course, at the Tom and Vi Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University Nov. 12, 2019. I was invited by Associate Dean Gary Chartier, who runs the Colloquium. The audience consisted mainly of business and grad students.
Oct 14, 2019 • 55min
KOL275 | Did You Know Crypto Podcast, Ep. 54: You Don’t Own Your Bitcoin
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 275.
This is my appearance in Episode 54 of the Did You Know Crypto Podcast, with host Dustin Dreifuerst. We talked about ownership of bitcoin and related issues. As Dustin summarized in his show notes:
Stephan and I talk about…
Ownership, Control & Property as Legal concepts
Why you cant actually “own” Bitcoin
How Bitcoin is about secrets not property
Ownership is a state augmentation
Why this isn’t an attack on Bitcoin
https://youtu.be/NQ2GOpMjzTo
(I previously appeared on this podcast: KOL266 | Did You Know Crypto Podcast, Ep. 36: Bitcoin Patent Trolling.)
For more information see this episode and related show notes: KOL274 | Nobody Owns Bitcoin (PFS 2019).
Sep 20, 2019 • 26min
KOL274 | Nobody Owns Bitcoin (PFS 2019)
[From my Webnote series]
Related
On the Danger of Metaphors in Scientific Discourse
Am I a Bitcoin Maximalist?
Craig Wright: You Don’t Own Your Digital Stuff. NFTs Could Actually Fix That — Without Intellectual Property
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 274; also as PFP215 | Stephan Kinsella, Nobody Owns Bitcoin (PFS 2019).
For the Q&A session, see KOL272-2 | Q&A with Hülsmann, Dürr, Kinsella, Hoppe (PFS 2019).
[Update: For an article based on the transcript, see "Nobody Owns Bitcoin," StephanKinsella.com (Sept. 20, 2019). See also Pavel Slutskiy, "Yes, You Should Own Bitcoin,” J. Libertarian Stud. 28, no. 1 (2024): 1–19.
Update: See KOL395 | Selling Does Not Imply Ownership, and Vice-Versa: A Dissection (PFS 2022).
See Leon Wankum, Bitcoin Is A Possession, Not Property, Bitcoin Magazine (Oct. 2, 2023)]
This is my presentation to the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Property and Freedom Society on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019. Powerpoint slides embedded below. Youtube embedded below.
Also podcast at PFP215.
Some related Q&A is in this session which was held later on the same day: Hülsmann, Kinsella, Dürr, Hoppe, Q&A (PFS 2019) [PFP218].
Related links/relevant material:
KOL191 | The Economy with Albert Lu: Can You Own Bitcoin? (1/3)
OTHERS:
Leon Wankum, "Bitcoin is a Possession, Not Property," Bitcoin Magazine (Oct. 2, 2023)
Konrad Graf, Are Bitcoins Ownable?: Property Rights, IP Wrongs, and Legal-Theory Implications [PDF]
Preston Byrne, What do you legally “own” with Bitcoin? A short introduction to krypto-property
Marty Bent, "Is Bitcoin a New Type of Property?", Bitcoin Magazine (Jul. 29, 2022)
On the Danger of Metaphors in Scientific Discourse
LeFevre on Intellectual Property and the “Ownership of Intangibles”
The “If you own something, that implies that you can sell it; if you sell something, that implies you must own it first” Fallacies,
“The Non-Aggression Principle as a Limit on Action, Not on Property Rights,” StephanKinsella.com Blog (Jan. 22, 2010)
“IP and Aggression as Limits on Property Rights: How They Differ,” StephanKinsella.com Blog (Jan. 22, 2010)
KOL085 | The History, Meaning, and Future of Legal Tender
The Limits of Libertarianism?: A Dissenting View
KOL249 | WCN’s Max Hillebrand: Intellectual Property and Who Owns Bitcoin
Cordato and Kirzner on Intellectual Property
Mises on property
KOL246 | CryptoVoices: Bitcoin as Property, Digital Goods, Personal Liberty, and Intellectual Property
My facebook post discussing ownership of Bitcoin
Tom Bell: Copyright Erodes Property?
Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator
Tax Plan May Hurt Bitcoin, WSJ
Swiss Tax Authorities Confirm that Bitcoin is VAT-free in Switzerland
Tokyo court says bitcoins are not ownable
FinCEN Rules Commodity-Backed Token Services are Money Transmitters
Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator;
Miami Judge Rules Bitcoin Is Not Money; Dismisses Money Laundering, Transmitting Charges
How to handle bitcoin gains on your taxes
SEC: US Securities Laws ‘May Apply’ to Token Sales
Federal Judge Rules Bitcoin Is Real Money
KOL233 | Mises UK Podcast: Bitcoin Ownership and the Global Withering of the State
for more on whether bitcoin is ownable property, see this Facebook thread
KOL085 | The History, Meaning, and Future of Legal Tender
KOL086 | RARE Radio interview with Kurt Wallace: The War on Bitcoin
KOL 043 | Triple-V: Voluntary Virtues Vodcast, with Michael Shanklin: Bitcoin, Legal Reform, Morality of Voting, Rothbard on Copyright
Tax Plan May Hurt Bitcoin, WSJ
Swiss Tax Authorities Confirm that Bitcoin is VAT-free in Switzerland
Tokyo court says bitcoins are not ownable
FinCEN Rules Commodity-Backed Token Services are Money Transmitters
Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator;
Miami Judge Rules Bitcoin Is Not Money; Dismisses Money Laundering, Transmitting Charges
How to handle bitcoin gains on your taxes
SEC: US Securities Laws ‘May Apply’ to Token Sales
Federal Judge Rules Bitcoin Is Real Money
KOL249 | WCN's Max Hillebrand: Intellectual Property and Who Owns Bitcoin
What do you legally “own” with Bitcoin? Posted on November 23, 2018 by prestonbyrne
Portugal Tax Authorities Clarify That Buying Or Selling Cryptocurrency Is Tax-Free
In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for dept., see NOW THAT BITCOIN IS CONSIDERED PROPERTY IN THE UK, RECLAIMING RANSOMED ASSETS SENT TO EXCHANGES IS MUCH EASIER
OTHERS:
WSJ article Tax Plan May Hurt Bitcoin, the article notes that legal tender laws are, in fact, jeopardizing BTC. Bitcoins are now classified by the IRS as "property" "instead of" as legal tender money, meaning capital gains taxes are owed on transactions.... This is one danger of BTC advocates using the language of property rights to describe bitcoins. I would argue that bitcoins are not legally owned and thus capital gains taxes are not applicable—or at least, this is one argument the target of a government tax evasion suit might want to use.
Swiss Tax Authorities Confirm that Bitcoin is VAT-free in Switzerland: "Bitcoin Association Switzerland reports that, according to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, no VAT applies to bitcoin in Switzerland. The transfer of bitcoin doesn’t constitute delivery of goods or services, and therefore it’s not subject to VAT."
for more on whether bitcoin is ownable property, see this Facebook thread
Tokyo court says bitcoins are not ownable
FinCEN Rules Commodity-Backed Token Services are Money Transmitters
Bitcoin Is Officially a Commodity, According to U.S. Regulator;
SEC: US Securities Laws 'May Apply' to Token Sales
Update:
@NSKinsella I don't know if you ever wrote about this, but would you consider domain names to be private property? After all, in practice, they are scarce, and it's usually not possible to have two people run websites using the same domain name simultaneously.
Same with IPs.
— Kadaververwertungsanstalt (@witheredsummer) July 8, 2025
From Grok:
Stephan Kinsella’s Arguments on Digital Ownership
Stephan Kinsella, a libertarian legal theorist, argues in his podcast episode KOL274: Nobody Owns Bitcoin (2019 Property and Freedom Society) that Bitcoin cannot be owned as property because it is not a scarce, tangible resource. This response extends Kinsella’s arguments to domain names, Twitter handles, Facebook accounts/profiles, phone numbers, and places in line (queues), incorporating details about the @X handle seizure by X Corp in July 2023 and the role of ICANN in domain name governance.
Context: The @X Handle Seizure
When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 and rebranded it as X in July 2023, the @X handle was reassigned from its original owner, Gene X Hwang, to X Corp for corporate branding. Below, we address the incident and its implications.
Did Elon Musk Unilaterally Seize Accounts Like @X?
Yes, X Corp, under Musk’s control, took the @X handle from Gene X Hwang without prior consent in July 2023 for the platform’s rebranding. No evidence suggests Musk seized accounts for personal use; the @X reassignment was for corporate use. No other specific account seizures are widely reported.
Was This Permitted by the Terms of Service (TOS)?
The seizure was allowed under Twitter’s updated 2023 TOS, which permitted X Corp to reclaim usernames for branding purposes. The TOS gave the company discretion to reassign handles without notice, though this sparked criticism for lacking transparency.
Did Musk Apologize or Offer Alternatives/Compensation?
Musk did not personally apologize. X Corp offered Hwang alternative handles (e.g., @X12345678998765) and minor perks (e.g., merchandise), but no financial compensation. Hwang expressed mild disappointment but accepted the reassignment.
Articles on the @X Incident
The Telegraph: “Elon Musk takes over @X Twitter account without paying owner” (July 26, 2023)
Link
Details the reassignment without payment, offering alternative handles.
Forbes: “X Seizes @X Handle From Longtime Twitter User Without Compensation” (July 26, 2023)
Link
Notes the lack of compensation and TOS permissibility.
Mashable: “Elon Musk’s X/Twitter is taking usernames now, and users aren’t happy” (July 26, 2023)
Link
Covers user backlash and TOS implications.
Gizmodo: “Elon Musk’s X Corp Snags @X Handle From User Without Payment” (July 26, 2023)
Link
Discusses the abrupt transfer and lack of payment.
The New York Times: “Twitter’s Rebrand to X Prompts Username Controversy” (July 27, 2023)
Link
Mentions the @X incident amid rebranding chaos.
Kinsella’s Core Argument on Bitcoin and Property
Kinsella’s libertarian framework posits that property rights resolve conflicts over scarce, tangible resources. Key points:
Scarcity: Property rights apply only to scarce resources (e.g., land). Non-scarce entities, like information, don’t require ownership.
Ideal Objects: Digital constructs (e.g., Bitcoin’s blockchain) are infinitely replicable, non-scarce “ideal objects.”
Bitcoin: Bitcoin is information, not a tangible resource. Private keys grant control, not ownership, as claiming ownership restricts others’ use of their hardware.
Extending Kinsella’s Arguments
Kinsella would argue that domain names, Twitter handles, Facebook accounts, phone numbers, and queue positions are not owned as property due to their non-scarce or contractual nature.
1. Domain Names (ICANN)
Definition: Domain names (e.g., example.com) are human-readable aliases for IP addresses, mapped via DNS. ICANN oversees DNS, accredits registrars, and resolves disputes via UDRP.
Kinsella’s View:
Not Scarce: Domain names are non-scarce strings; scarcity is artificial via ICANN’s system.
Contractual: Registration is a lease, not ownership. Users “own” the contract,
Aug 23, 2019 • 1h 14min
KOL273 | Peter Quinones Interview on Argumentation Ethics
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 273.
This is my appearance as a guest on Episode 302: "Stephan Kinsella Explains Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics", of the Free Man Beyond the Wall podcast, by host Pete Quinones (formerly known as "Mance Rayder"), hosted by The Libertarian Institute. From his shownotes:
Many libertarian/anarchists have heard of the concept of Argumentation Ethics as developed by Hans-Hermann Hoppe but have never looked to see what it’s all about.
Stephan Kinsella has studied AEs, applied it to his own work and even developed the thought process further. Here, he gives a lengthy explanation that can serve as your doorway into the subject.
Stephan is an attorney in Houston, director of the Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom, and editor of Libertarian Papers.
The A Priori of Argumentation
Longer Hoppe Video
Stephan’s Website
A Concise Guide to Argumentation Ethics
Indiegogo for The Monopoly on Violence
Pete’s Patreon
Pete’s Bitbacker
Pete’s Books on Amazon
Pete’s Books Available for Crypto
Pete on Facebook
Pete on Twitter
See also:
“Dialogical Arguments for Libertarian Rights,” in The Dialectics of Liberty (Lexington Books, 2019)
Hoppe’s Argumentation Ethics and Its Critics, StephanKinsella.com (Aug. 11, 2015)
Lecture 3 of my 2011 Mises Academy course, “The Social Theory of Hoppe” (slides here)
Lecture 2 of my 2011 Mises Academy course, “Libertarian Legal Theory: Property, Conflict, and Society” (slides here)
The Genesis of Estoppel: My Libertarian Rights Theory, StephanKinsella.com (March 22, 2016)
Defending Argumentation Ethics: Reply to Murphy & Callahan, Anti-state.com (Sept. 19, 2002)
“Argumentation Ethics and Liberty: A Concise Guide,” Mises Daily (May 27, 2011)
Aug 21, 2019 • 53min
KOL272 | Ernie Hancock Freedom’s Phoenix on Reputation Rights, Defamation, IP
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 272.
This is my appearance on the Ernie Hancock “Declare your Independence” show for Aug. 21 (Hour 2). We discussed defamation law and reputation rights, and some related matters.
Grok shownotes:
Introduction and Anti-IP Stance
The interview begins with host Ernie Hancock introducing Stephan Kinsella, a libertarian patent attorney and author of "Against Intellectual Property," discussing how his practice led him to oppose IP laws (2:00). Kinsella explains IP justifications as utilitarian market failure arguments, noting patents' temporary nature contradicts true property rights, lasting 17 years versus copyrights' 100+ years (3:00). He critiques government-granted monopolies that stifle innovation, sharing how libertarian views shifted over a decade to recognize IP's disadvantages (4:00). The conversation ties into "Letters of Captain Mark," focusing on "pattern monopolies" as intellectual colonization by the state and privateers (4:52).
Reputation and Its Relation to IP
Transitioning to reputation, Kinsella links it to IP categories like trademarks, which protect brand value built on reputation, and defamation laws, akin to libel (written) and slander (spoken), allowing suits for false harmful statements (7:00-9:00). He argues reputation isn't owned like physical property but exists in others' minds, per Rothbard, rejecting value-based rights (9:00). After a break featuring a Captain Mark letter on IP (10:00), discussion resumes on reputation residing in evaluators' minds, not enforceable via law, as negative campaigning or lies aren't crimes unless violating physical integrity (11:00-12:00). Kinsella notes his anti-IP writings from 1995, still practicing defensively (12:00-13:00).
Practical Reputation Systems and Identification
Post-break, topics shift to IP lobbying by Hollywood, music, and pharma industries, with treaties like TPP exporting U.S. standards (14:00-16:00). Reputation examples include eBay, Uber ratings as crowdsourced, privately handled without government (18:00-20:00). Hancock explores pirate ship reputation via crew votes on rehiring, emphasizing blockchain, biometrics for unique ID despite aliases (21:00-23:00). Davi shares a name confusion anecdote, stressing verification for bona fides (23:00). Kinsella agrees on private mechanisms, noting guilds or social media for reputation without state intervention (24:00-25:00).
Private ID, Privacy, and Libertarian Principles
Fundamentals of private ID are debated, akin to historical letters of reference, ruined by defamation threats chilling employer feedback (26:00-28:00). Kinsella views identity as knowledge problem, solvable via insurance requiring DNA or biometrics (28:00-29:00). Facial recognition isn't libertarian violation if private, as no trespass occurs; anonymity costs credibility, like pseudonyms reducing trust (30:00-32:00). Discussion covers nuisance laws not applying to "photons" from unsightly properties, blurring faces as IP distortion (36:00-38:00). Evading IP via torrenting, 3D printing foreseen; blue check marks as private verification (39:00-41:00). Ends with guild models co-opted by state, market for private credentials (41:00-43:00), wrapping at farewell (52:00).
https://youtu.be/eIpV7mBfHWc
Related links:
Rothbard, Knowledge, True and False
Block, Defending the Undefendable, ch. 7 "The Slanderer and Libeler"
David Kelley vs. Nat Hentoff on Libel, Youtube
Kinsella, Reply to Van Dun: Non-Aggression and Title Transfer, Journal of Libertarian Studies, Volume 18, no. 2 (Spring 2004)
Initial Youtube transcript as cleaned up by Grok (Grok may have used the wrong names in places, I have not checked yet):
[0:00]
[Ernie Hancock]: And now live from the studios of Freedom's Phoenix, Ernest Hancock. Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are to be prepared for it, we must first shed our fear of it. I stand here without fear because I remember. I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lies behind me. I remember that for 100 years we have fought these machines. And after a century of war, I remember that which matters most. We are still here.
Let us make them remember we are not afraid.
[1:00]
[Ernie Hancock]: I'm here and declare your independence with me, Ernie Hancock. Davi Barker sitting in, last day before he has to head off tomorrow. We might do a little bit of show tomorrow. Stephan Kinsella, Donna's getting him on the line now. He had the time wrong, so we'll get him on in just a second here. She's calling him now. Now, Davi and I are going to be talking about reputation with Stephan Kinsella. Now, the one thing, we're done with Captain Kid. I was thinking, the Emancipation, could we make him an airship? Can we make the Emancipation an airship?
[Davi Barker]: Oh, yeah. He needs a ship. I'm just wondering, like in the pirate cove where we have the shiny badges and the Freedom's Phoenix airship. You want to put him in there?
[Ernie Hancock]: Well, I was thinking that we do a graphic. I don't really want to show his face. It'd be like you're looking at him from behind, like directing something, like pointing a sword at his ship there, and that'd be the graphic or something.
[Davi Barker]: Yeah, I guess we got to decide what kind of ship it is.
[2:00]
[Ernie Hancock]: Yeah, it needs to be an airship. I got to go rescue. I was thinking of flarecraft, but then you can't get in land lovers and go rescue and stuff. So, we'll talk about that. We got Stephan Kinsella. I got you there, Stephan?
[Stephan Kinsella]: You got me, Ernie.
[Ernie Hancock]: There we go. Okay, we got that taken care of. Yeah. All right. This is what I'm gonna let Davi go ahead and do this because let's go ahead and introduce. I'll introduce Stephan and then we'll get right into the meat because there's a lot to talk about. We got a short time here. Stephan Kinsella is a libertarian writer and registered patent attorney. Mr. Kinsella is a leading anti-intellectual property libertarian theorist, author of "Against Intellectual Property." Now, this is, you know, go ahead and give your bona fides a little. A patent attorney. How did you get to be a patent attorney and be anti-IP? Did you see what was happening? What's up?
[3:00]
[Stephan Kinsella]: Well, that's exactly how I started practicing patent law, realized, started understanding the system, realized how horrible it is and that it can't be justified.
[Ernie Hancock]: Well, what was their justification? You know, nobody will make anything unless they get to say it's theirs forever and always. I mean, what was their rationale?
[Stephan Kinsella]: Yeah, that's... there's a bunch of justifications and I had heard them and none of them made sense to me because they just didn't have the type of rigorous argument for them like other property rights do. Because they expire after a certain while. What kind of property right is temporary? Right? Patents last about 17 years and copyright lasts about 100-plus years, but they're temporary. What kind of real property right is temporary? And then the arguments were utilitarian. They were basically evidence-based. They were saying that there's going to be an underproduction of innovation and creative works in a free society because the market will basically fail.
[4:00]
[Stephan Kinsella]: So we need to come in with the government and give these patent and copyright monopoly privilege grants to people to protect them from competition so it's easier for them to make money so they produce more works. So it's kind of a market failure argument which I never bought that either.
[Ernie Hancock]: Yeah, I'm... you know, I think it was like '09, '10, '11 around in there that we first came across you, had you on, and there were a lot of libertarians like, "Hey man, I make this and I do a book and I got..." and "Stephan's wrong." And then as a decade has passed, they're going, "Nah, Stephan might be right." It's becoming more and more common to see the disadvantages of intellectual property. Now what we're focusing on is reputation. There is a letters of Captain Mark. I don't know if you've read any of them. Remember we did a one on intellectual property. We called it pattern monopoly, you know. So that was a good letter. And then now we're looking at reputation as first off, you know, whatever you're saying who owns what and who... you need to know who is, you know, and of course they want it to be the government facial recognition of your permanent record of we know everything and here's your search terms.
[5:00]
[Ernie Hancock]: But I would like to, as a pirate captain or an employer, you know, the first thing I want to know, I don't care how many 15 billion names that you use. I just want to know who you are. I can call you whatever you want, but I want to know who this person is that I'm hiring or doing business with or what. And we have reputation as being a big thing now in like eBay. You're selling stuff, you're offering things, somebody wants to know your bona fides kind of deal, but I just don't need the government to tell me you're certified for something. I'd rather go and have the people tell me. But when we went through this, this is what we thought of you. And Donna had already had you scheduled for today, a couple days. I'm going, "Woo, serendipitous." I'm going, "This is working out great." Because what Davi did, tell them what you did and how you were looking for this and came across them.
[6:00]
[Davi Barker]: Yeah, this is kind of like a spooky feature of Google search results. I was looking for, like what we always do with these letters is who are the best writers on this subject, right? Who can we grab like the best material and use that to boil down... steal their IP? How we pirate their IP so that we can produce a better letter? No. So,
Jun 28, 2019 • 53min
KOL271 | Let’s Talk ETC! Libertarianism, Anarcho-Capitalism & Blockchains
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 271.
This is my appearance on Let's Talk ETC! #87 (June 24, 2019), with host Dr. Christian Seberino. From his shownotes:
Stephan Kinsella is a Houston patent lawyer and libertarian advocate. He joins me for an informative discussion about libertarianism, anarcho-capitalism and related blockchain legal issues. Topics addressed include how blockchain technologies impact privacy, tax collection, copyrights, patents, obscenity laws and more.
Jun 25, 2019 • 49min
KOL270 | Corbett Report: Law Without The State
Kinsella on Liberty Podcast, Episode 270.
This is my second appearance on The Corbett Report (Ep. 1453, 25 June 2019), with host James Corbett (from Japan):
Interview 1453 – Stephan Kinsella on Law Without the State
Stephan Kinsella joins us today to discuss the concept of law without the state. Is law and order possible without a state? What would that look like? And just what is “the law,” anyway? Find out more in this fascinating conversation on law, history, philosophy and anarchy.
Related:
What It Means To Be an Anarcho-Capitalist, LewRockwell.com (Jan. 20, 2004)
Fraud, Restitution, and Retaliation: The Libertarian Approach (Feb. 3, 2009)
Hoppe, Anarcho-Capitalism: An annotated bibliography, LewRockwell.com, December 31, 2001
KOL144 | Corbett Report Radio (2012)


