Articles

Censorship lacks epistemic grounding

• Martin Enlund
• 8/15/23

TL;DR: today’s censorship enthusiasts can’t know what’s true or not when dealing with complex systems, which should make them more cautious before reaching for their black markers.

On linguistic issues

• Martin Enlund
• 8/5/23

Elon Musk asserted earlier this year that the media is “racist against white people.” This came after the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams, was accused of “spewing racism,” which resulted in his comic strip Dilbert being removed from the country’s newspapers. Musk was quickly labeled as a racist.

You will have no freedom, and be happy

• Martin Enlund
• 2/5/23

Did you know that the Riksbank, the Swedish central bank, decided last year to burn 2.6 million kronor (Swedish currency) in cash that was found in a deceased person’s estate? That the central bank confiscated half a million kronor from a 95-year-old woman? That bank customers - individuals and businesses - are being de-platformed from banking services after trading in cryptocurrencies, that a major bank closed the account of a Swedish journalist last year, or that British banks are denying their customers the ability to transfer their own money to cryptocurrency exchanges?

The Fed Pill

• Martin Enlund
• 1/29/23

In the iconic scene from the 1999 film The Matrix, the protagonist Neo is presented with a choice between two pills - the red pill, which reveals true reality, or the blue pill, which allows him to remain in his mundane existence, unaware of the choice he has made. This metaphor has become a popular trope on social media over the past decade, with the term “pill” being used to describe a sudden realization or enlightenment. The term is often used in the context of learning or gaining knowledge, and it is meant to evoke the idea of a “magic pill” that can instantly change one’s understanding or perspective on a subject.

CBDCs - utopia, dystopia, or both?

• Martin Enlund
• 11/17/22

“What is going on!?” my three-year-old exlaimed at the breakfast table the other day. And it’s indeed a valid question. Energy and food prices have been skyrocketing, yet another epidemic (monkeypox) has recently appeared to be spreading - at least it was declared a global emergency this past summer, and the world’s central bankers are changing their minds so quickly one suspects that they might soon land on their buttocks (perhaps in butter).

Is fiat money really money?

• Martin Enlund
• 11/7/22

Truth be told, investing legend Hugh Hendry had a point when he recently said that “central bankers don’t understand money, they only pretend”. But before we merely assign blame to this modern clergy of ours, one might as well note that few of us actually seem to understand money.

Overton's window creates opportunities for the brave

• Martin Enlund
• 11/4/22

When you’re one step ahead of the crowd, you’re a genius. When you’re two steps ahead, you’re a madman

Centralisation is part of the problem

• Martin Enlund
• 9/27/22

Claims that we need greater centralisation, more EU, or more globalisation are prevalent across the usual media channels. The climate crisis, environmental destruction, pandemics, the AI-threat, yes, everything will apparently be solved if a little more global coordination, governance and leadership can be brought about.

Sweden's first Bitcoin gallery is open

• Martin Enlund
• 7/21/22

We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust.

Monetary Poverty Policy

• Martin Enlund
• 6/21/22

Why is inflation so high, and what does the powers that be plan to do about it? Let’s start our attempt at answering this by looking at the supply side, where we have seen massive amounts of negative shocks to the supply side in recent years. In particular since the discovery of the COVID-19 virus.