Peter Thiel told The Free Press that capitalism “isn’t working for young people,” arguing that the generational compact between boomers and millennials has broken down as student debt, housing costs, and economic stagnation fuel alienation. The billionaire venture capitalist, known for backing PayPal, Palantir, and J.D. Vance, said he foresaw millennials’ growing attraction to socialism as early as 2010, warning Facebook executives in a 2020 email that “we should try and understand why” young people felt disillusioned. Thiel linked 80 percent of culture wars to economics, and 80 percent of those to real estate, asserting that restrictive housing policy has “proletarianized” youth. Though skeptical of socialist solutions, he said figures like New York mayor Zohran Mamdani reflect a failure of establishment politics to address basic issues. Thiel added, “Capitalism is not working for a lot of people… I’m not surprised [Mamdani] won.”
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The Fiat Stress Machine & Masculine Compression,” from Mike Hobart argues that Western men face a crisis of purpose driven by economic and cultural decay. Hobart links rising male anxiety and social alienation to “Keynesian fiat economics” that reward deceit over integrity, producing what he calls an “honorless money.” He contends that inflationary policy, debt dependence, and declining purchasing power erode men’s biological imperative to provide, resulting in a feedback loop of “narcissistic nihilism.” Citing research on cortisol and testosterone, he suggests chronic stress suppresses masculine development, worsened by divorce, fatherlessness, and “anti-masculine narratives.” Hobart claims Bitcoin’s scarcity-based design could realign incentives toward accountability and community. “When the economic tool by which society organizes itself lacks adherence to rules,” he writes, “this very same lifestyle bleeds across the top echelons of socioeconomic status.”
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Parker Lewis called Square’s rollout of bitcoin payments to its four million merchants an “historic moment,” arguing it marks the point where Bitcoin begins functioning as “everyday money.” Writing on X, Lewis, author of Gradually, Then Suddenly, praised Square, part of Block Inc., for bridging Bitcoin to the real economy, noting that most people “will come to understand bitcoin as money when they see it used as money.” He said the move strengthens Bitcoin’s decentralization by reducing reliance on fiat exchanges and diversifying liquidity toward merchants. Early adopters include Austin’s Medici Roasting and Local Pastures, where customers can now buy coffee and groceries directly in bitcoin. Lewis called it a “watershed event” that will pressure competitors to follow and accelerate investment in payment infrastructure, adding, “It’s incumbent upon bitcoiners to walk through the door Square has opened.”
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President Trump’s vow to end “crypto crackdowns” has fallen flat, argues Joakim Book for Reason, citing the five-year prison sentence of Samourai Wallet cofounder Keonne Rodriguez as evidence. Rodriguez was convicted for “transmission of illicit proceeds” despite Samourai being a non-custodial Bitcoin wallet, which Book said made the money-transmission charge “odd in the first place.” Judge Denise Cote told Rodriguez he had “used [his] considerable talents to make it harder to recoup stolen funds,” while critics noted that no TD Bank executives faced jail for laundering billions in U.S. dollars. Book called the case a holdover from “Operation Chokepoint 2.0,” highlighting a double standard in which “leniency in crypto cases seems reserved for those with billions to invest or political leverage.” He urged Trump to pardon Rodriguez to restore fairness in digital asset regulation.
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Thank you very much for the read and mentioning my work.