Very good. Thank you.

I had previously avoided this video because the thumbnails (of some instances) show a grotesque depiction of Theil. That's unhelpful.

Errata, this debate was in 2014.

My preassumption was this would simply be a fintech billionaire disagreeing with an academic that financialization of the economy in the 70s is the root cause of our ongoing malaise. Yet another food fight. I'm glad I was wrong.

Theil still tried to shift blame onto the OPEC oil crisis. Wrongly, of course; inequity continued to accelerate and productivity continued to lag, even after the USA became energy self sufficient.

Scarcity

Theil's really stuck on the notion of scarcity. In a world of ridiculous abundance (current supply chain snafus notwithstanding). A true pessimist.

Theil's explanation for why people are poor and malnourished is because of scarcity. We produce enough food to feed 10b people. What's Theil's thesis for this disconnect? Does that thesis apply to other domains?

Whatever Theil's notions about how the world does or should work, I'd like to hear some ideas concretely rooted in the real world. Not just more Friedman style rejection of empiricism.

Democracy

David Graeber is a democracy innovator and practitioner.

Like all reformers and innovators, Graeber would be best served by "show, don't tell". Tell real life stories. Of citizen juries, cooperatives, worker directed social enterprises. And then relate how those examples tie back to his thesis.

My observation and experience is that people can't grok participatory democracy. It simply has to be experienced. Once people see concrete results of constructive participation, it just clicks.

Like most everyone, Theil thinks democracy is simply voting. And can only see the failures. Culture and society has carried around Socrates' fear of plebiscite for millennia -- tyranny of the majority and other monsters -- and so react strongly against any and all reforms.

How do we pop people out of that intellectual dead end? How do we shift the focus from casting ballots to participating in salons?

Graeber's solution is to practice participatory democracy whenever, however you can. Mostly in the margins. Make your own space for reform. He strongly rejects revolution. For both moral and practical reasons.

A point I wish had been made in response to Theil's rejection of social movements.

Libertarian

TLDR for this discussion: right wing libertarian can't or won't consider a left wing libertarian's ideas.

Much as I related to Theil's viewpoints, I'm disappointed that an apparently bright guy can't think of any other organizational structure (for achieving great things) than Silicon Valley style VC-funded startups.

Neoreactionary

In 2014, Theil rejects government and working within the system.

To this viewer, Theil has utterly betrayed his previously stated principles.

Whatever Theil has said in the past should not be cited as his current philosophy.

Conclusion

Previously, I've struggled to criticize Theil. Because I can't figure out what he's talking about. Like his recent blather about China, cryptocurrency, and national security. Theil is incoherent.

Thanks again for this link. For me, it shows that Theil doesn't even believe the things he says. So why should anyone care to listen?

My instinct to ignore Theil was proven correct.