Mass Democracy Is a Solved Meta | 5⧸15⧸24
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
186.39833
Summary
In this episode, Oren explains the concept of democracy as a solved metagame, and how it can be applied in real life. He also talks about Tony Blinken's new book, "Solved Metagame: How We Can Fix Our Democracy," and why voting should be abolished in Ukraine.
Transcript
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Have you ever been in the situation where you're doing a large press tour for your new book
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and all of a sudden you get slammed by a terrible bout of seasonal allergies?
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I've been talking all day and, you know, got everything going on with the allergies.
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So if I'm coughing a lot or if my voice sounds weird or if I'm drinking more water than usual,
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that's why I'm just worn out a little bit from the grind of trying to do this
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while also having this overwhelming allergy attack while doing all these interviews.
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And of course, today I want to talk to you a little bit about the idea of democracy as a solved metagame.
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A lot of people may not be familiar with the concept of the metagame.
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But of course, if you are a gamer, if you're somebody who is very familiar with online games,
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I think you'll appreciate some of this as well.
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But I think this is a really important insight for people to grasp
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because when you're looking at something strategically,
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you want to understand the number of options you have available.
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And if there aren't a lot of good options available,
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you need to understand the necessity of shaking up the board
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because if you continue to try to play losing strategies in a solved meta,
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then you're going to end up where a lot of people on the right are now,
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throwing your head against the wall day in and day out,
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trying to understand why everything that you do doesn't seem to come back with any serious results.
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So I want to explain the idea of a metagame and what a solved metagame is for you guys.
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And I want to dive into a little bit about how that might be something we can shift.
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Also, I want to tell you a little bit about Tony Blinken
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and his assertion that Ukraine is basically suspended its democracy in perpetuity
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And democracy, as long as we don't actually have to vote.
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Voting is, of course, very dangerous for democracies
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as we keep learning over and over again from our ruling elites.
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So I want to go into that revelation that has been delivered to us on high
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All right, so it's going to come to a shock for a lot of you.
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I'm very familiar with the idea of competitive gaming.
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Not so much video games, though, of course, I have played video games,
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I have played online games that do have metagames,
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I played a lot of competitive Magic the Gathering tournaments
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And so I want to take the concept of the metagame
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because I think it's critical to grasp the situation we're in with politics.
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And you can tell we're doing very serious politics here
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because I'm comparing it to battling with cardboard
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and plastic miniatures and possibly video games.
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So stay with me, even if this sounds a little nerdy for you,
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because I think ultimately there is something to learn here.
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So for those unfamiliar with the concept of a metagame,
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But if you're playing multiple iterations of a game over time,
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we have what was called a metagame development.
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not just at the individual games that you're playing,
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And you don't have to be a huge nerd to recognize this.
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If you've involved yourself in any kind of game,
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If you played football or if you've watched UFC fights,
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If everyone is playing a certain type of defense,
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then maybe it's better to go ahead and run the ball
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or it's better to go ahead and throw long distance bombs
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if they're constantly trying to play against teams that run.
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and you had to adapt the way that you understood
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understanding that the metagame of the way that the cage worked
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tended to settle down the wider variety of strategies
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And you should really optimize your strategy for the field
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when you're just thinking of it in the abstract in isolation.
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if you're doing your strategy just in isolation,
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because eventually you're going to run into the reality
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They don't just play their particular strategy.
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And that's going to make you the best competitor.
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or have not honed their skills in the metagame.
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Wag the Dog is a movie about like manufacturing
00:42:14.940
And as fantasy fool as that movie is, like even
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Like the writers would have been laughed out of
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There's a lot of a lot of fugazi about, you know,
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play and what can actually make any kind of real
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truths lead us to realizations that are they're
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far more helpful and give us an actual solution
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basically just libertarians rejecting the label?
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certainly not a libertarian. I do not believe in
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small government. I do not believe in classical
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liberalism. When I say I don't believe in small
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institutions. But what I mean is I don't believe
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sphere of the church and the family and keep the
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those opposing social spheres. So I'm for using the
00:45:00.120
power of government in the short run in ways that
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unconscionable to prevent the overall totalitarian
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takeover that happens inevitably once we collapse
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other social spheres. So, I mean, it's not that I
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don't agree with some of the libertarian talking
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points. I think that, you know, a lot of the insights
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that someone like a Hans Hermann Hopp, you know, brings
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are really important. You know, there are certainly
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aspects of, you know, Rothbard and others that I think
00:45:32.820
are valuable, Mises and such. But I think ultimately
00:45:36.920
there is a flaw in at least the popular understanding of
00:45:40.700
libertarian political theory. And it's that they
00:45:44.560
largely lack a theory of power and the realities
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they're in. So that's how I would respond. And then
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Robert Weisfeld with just the $3 super chat. Thank you
00:45:55.920
so much, man. Really appreciate you supporting the
00:45:58.220
show. All right, guys, going to go ahead and wrap
00:46:00.660
things up. But as always, thank you so much for coming
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by. If it's your first time on the channel, make sure
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that you go ahead and subscribe. Make sure that you hit
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the notifications, the bell so that you can watch these
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things live. Always great talking to you guys live when
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you are able to make it. Of course, if you'd like to get
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these broadcasts as podcasts, make sure that you subscribe
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to the Orr McIntyre show on your favorite podcast
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platform. And if you have not bought the total state, make
00:46:23.520
sure you do it, guys. Buy book, buy book, buy book. Make
00:46:26.600
sure that you are leaving reviews on Amazon if you enjoy
00:46:29.940
it. I'm doing a lot of media. I just got done with the
00:46:32.620
great Tom Woods. That podcast will be out soon doing a lot
00:46:36.740
more interviews and dates. Buck Johnson, a former
00:46:40.660
libertarian from those spheres. So if you enjoy hearing me
00:46:44.780
talk over and over again about the book, you have plenty
00:46:47.000
opportunities to enjoy those conversations. But you should
00:46:49.800
check them out because, of course, guys like Buck and Tom
00:46:52.440
are themselves fantastic guys to learn from. Guys who are
00:46:56.620
plugged in the libertarian sphere, but are also very aware of
00:46:59.620
the problems and limitations there. Thank you guys so much
00:47:02.380
for watching. And as always, I will talk to you next time.