February 02, 2025

Curtis Yarvin is now in the Overton Window w/ Samo Burja

58 minutes

Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja analyze Curtis Yarvin's arguments about government inefficiency, comparing corporate and state governance structures. The conversation covers how bureaucracies decay over time, China's approach to governance, and Yarvin's influence in shifting Silicon Valley libertarians toward more right-wing positions. They also examine his evolution from a cancelled figure to a mainstream intellectual voice.

—

📰 Be notified early when Turpentine's drops new publication: https://www.turpentine.co/exclusiveaccess

🙏 Help shape our show by taking our quick listener survey at https://bit.ly/TurpentinePulse

—

SPONSOR: NOTION | NETSUITE | SHOPIFY | SQUAD

Notion offers powerful workflow and automation templates, perfect for streamlining processes and laying the groundwork for AI-driven automation. With Notion AI, you can search across thousands of documents from various platforms, generating highly relevant analysis and content tailored just for you - try it for free at https://notion.com/upstreampod

Over 41,000 businesses trust NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud ERP, to future-proof their operations. With a unified platform for accounting, financial management, inventory, and HR, NetSuite provides real-time insights and forecasting to help you make quick, informed decisions. Whether you're earning millions or hundreds of millions, NetSuite empowers you to tackle challenges and seize opportunities. Download the free CFO's guide to AI and machine learning at https://netsuite.com/zen.

Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform, offering a market-leading checkout system Shoppay and exclusive AI apps. Nobody does selling better than Shopify. Get a $1 per month trial at https://shopify.com/momentofzen.

Head to Squad to access global engineering without the headache and at a fraction of the cost: head to https://choosesquad.com/ and mention “Turpentine” to skip the waitlist.

—

RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

Check out Modern Relationships, where Erik Torenberg interviews tech power couples and leading thinkers to explore how ambitious people actually make partnerships work. This season's guests include: Delian Asparouhov & Nadia Asparouhova, Kristen Berman & Phil Levin, Rob Henderson, and Liv Boeree & Igor Kurganov.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/id1786227593

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5hJzs0gDg6lRT6r10mdpVg

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ModernRelationshipsPod

—

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:

Curtis Yarvin's influence on tech-right thinking challenged conventional political discourse through digital platforms.

Corporate efficiency doesn't follow natural selection principles - institutional success requires active leadership rather than market forces alone.

Government accountability and innovation are stifled by bureaucratic gridlock, with catastrophic potential costs to society (exemplified by China's one-child policy).

Mainstream political ideologies (left & right) are more aligned than they appear, suggesting democracy isn't the final stage of political evolution.

Engaging with controversial thinkers like Yarvin reveals important critiques of current systems, even when disagreeing with their proposed solutions.

Societal progress requires harnessing collective energy and maintaining efficient governance structures.

...more

View all episodes

By Erik Torenberg, Dan Romero, Antonio Garcia Martinez

4.2

8585 ratings