Capital Record

The “conservative” world lives in interesting times, navigating on one hand the challenges of being a movement based on ideas and then on the other hand the personalities and frustrations that have recently entered the fray, often at odds with the movement and ideas they claim to have joined. We have spent ample time in this podcast defending the conservative ethos against those who would undermine its core orthodoxies either for coalitional benefits at the ballot box or for “street cred” in the desire to be popular, no matter where it leads ideologically.

But what if the issue at hand is not merely where to draw the line on government intervention in the marketplace, but what to do with full-blown lunatics like Nick Fuentes? Is antisemitism, conspiratorialism, racism, and broad kookiness part of the membership package in today’s conservative world? In today’s podcast, David explains why the challenges of gatekeeping for economic cogency are less different than people may think when it comes to gatekeeping full-blown extremism. And the stakes are equally high for those who prize the American and conservative ideal.

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The NBA world was rocked last week as a current head coach and two players were arrested in a major FBI investigation. The entire matter has led to great consternation over the world of sports betting and the explosive growth of how this is marketed and normalized in society. David does what this podcast exists for him to do: apply first principles to the discussion of sports betting -- its pitfalls and boundaries -- for those who value free markets but also the virtue and character we want for our society.

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The pro-work message has found a resurgence, but it has hardly won the war. It is not merely up against pop psychologists and a wide array of confused thought leaders, but the allure of algorithmic screen addictions and other acts of sloth that are hurting society in more ways than one. On today’s episode of Capital Record, David argues that bemoaning the influence of social media and video games is not enough -- that we must know what is at stake, and what our counterplan is to restore a healthy society.

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David is inspired today by a recent WSJ op-ed from the widow of Apple founder, Steve Jobs, arguing that too many philanthropists are using their donations for control rather than impact. David takes the position that too many philanthropists are driven by vanity, too many charities are driven by grift, and not enough philanthropists are wisely maintaining their leverage -- not for control, but for intended impact. A nuanced Capital Record with a message a lot of people will not like.

Show notes:
Beware of Philanthropists Who Want Control in Exchange for Their Giving

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It feels that New Right Republicans are sometimes trying to out-socialist Bernie Sanders, and in bemoaning the extraordinary results of Amazon in building opportunity for pay and wealth for its workforce and pitting that against the executive C-suite in standard class warfare lunacy, we have teed up all that is wrong with wage controls, price controls, and the class envy that does so much damage to the cause of a free and prosperously employed society.
 

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Sanae Takaichi is not just set to be the first female prime minister of Japan -- and someone whose childhood hero was the legendary Margaret Thatcher. She also launched her global claim to fame by saying she “wanted to abandon the idea of work-life balance” and planned to “have everyone work like a workhorse.” Well, this has generated some push back from people who are apparently happy with Japan’s 0 percent real GDP growth for over 30 years. In today’s episode, David analyzes why Takaichi is starting off as his favorite leader on the planet.

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As New York City prepares to elect Mamdani as mayor and young people across college campuses tout the miseries of “capitalism,” is the financial crisis of 2008 to blame for a paradigm shift in public sentiment? In this episode, David unpacks the truth of the narrative that everything changed that year. 

Show notes:
The Rise of America’s Young Socialists—From the 2008 Financial Crisis to Mamdani

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The artificial intelligence moment is a perfect opportunity for free marketeers to defend market innovations and technological progress, but also a challenging moment to question the role of the state, the impact on society, and the errors in moving with speed but not wisdom.

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A reading of the early National Conservatism movement manifesto indicated a belief in the tenets of free enterprise, albeit with qualifications that would prove to undermine that which they said they wanted to uphold. Fast forward a few years since the movement crystalized in the public square, and it is very clear that NatCon can no longer advocate for what they said they once did, that the reason for this is their very own concession, and that what they said they energetically opposed is actually what they gave birth to. A case study in being treated as useful idiots by the politicos a movement helped empower.

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David looks at the danger that happens when we use hasty generalizations in our economic thinking. A company does something bad?  Companies are bad. A business deal goes bad? Business deals are bad. A trading partners does wrong? Trading partners are bad. The illogical movement from a particular to a universal is flawed thinking, but when it gets put into practice, it undermines optimal economic outcomes and ignores the most basic of economic principles.

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