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Can a society continue to function without government? And what is a greater threat to our freedom: the power of the government or the power of big business? In this episode of Holland Gold, Paul Buitink and Sven Kuipers talk to Boris van de Ven, presenter of podcasts such as the Bitcoin Show and V for Valentine. They discuss the energy crisis, inflation and how the increasing role of governments is putting pressure on our economic freedom.
Libertarian and programme maker van de Ven notes that two different worlds are getting closer and closer together as a result of the corona crisis and the energy crisis. Hard-working entrepreneurs and highly educated people who, until recently, still had faith in governments, banks and science are now starting to doubt and ask questions. They are beginning to be, just like the so-called 'Wappies' to worry about the risks of the banking system, the stability of our money system and the increasing interference of governments.
Van de Ven describes how he became familiar with the Libertarian movement in politics, in which property rights and personal freedom are central and in which the role of the government is kept as small as possible. He refers to the Batavian constitution of 1798, in which libertarian ideas were still central and the government played a limited role in daily life. This constitution was even used as a blueprint for the American constitution, but in today's Dutch society and politics there is little evidence of this body of thought.
The programme maker sees increasing socialism, in which the space for open debate is shrinking and learned helplessness has become the norm. He also sees that people are always looking to governments to come up with a solution and that governments are taking more and more drastic measures as a result.
One of the big problems that everyone has to deal with now is the ever-rising prices. Inflation has many causes, but according to van de Ven, it is never about the underlying problem of money creation. More and more people are starting to realize that there is more to it and that prices are rising not only because of geopolitical and logistical problems, but also because of money creation.
All other explanations for rising prices obscure the real underlying problem, which is that everything is becoming more and more expensive through money creation. Credit creation increases the money supply, causing all prices to rise automatically. This elephant in the room is still too often left out of the discussion.
Van de Ven foresees major economic challenges in the coming period. For example, more and more companies and industries are struggling with skyrocketing energy bills, which will ultimately lead to more bankruptcies. According to him, this will also have an effect on the European banking sector, as banks have provided loans to companies. Writing off these loans may mean a new banking crisis.
Another problem is the possible break-up of the currency union, because the world has fundamentally changed as a result of the war in Ukraine. Until recently, we could pay with euros for cheap energy from Russia. At the moment, we are paying much more for the purchase of oil and gas. This will further increase tensions in the currency union, leaving us with only two ways to go. Either we will have a European superstate, or the currency union will fall apart. In any case, muddling through is no longer a solution.
