#174 – Tyler Cowen: Economic Growth and the Fight Against Conformity and Mediocrity

Tyler Cowen is an economist, writer, and podcaster. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors: – Linode: https://linode.com/lex to get $100 free credit – ExpressVPN: https://expressvpn.com/lexpod and use code LexPod to get 3 months free – SimpliSafe: https://simplisafe.com/lex and use code LEX to get a free security camera – Public Goods: https://publicgoods.com/lex and use code LEX to get $15 off EPISODE LINKS: Tyler’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/tylercowen Tyler’s Blog: https://marginalrevolution.com/ Conversations with Tyler (Podcast): https://conversationswithtyler.com/ Big Business (Book): https://amzn.to/2OBPbaK Tyler’s Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Cowen PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ YouTube Full Episodes: https://youtube.com/lexfridman YouTube Clips: https://youtube.com/lexclips SUPPORT & CONNECT: – Check out the sponsors above, it’s the best way to support this podcast – Support on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/lexfridman – Twitter: https://twitter.com/lexfridman – Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexfridman – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexfridman – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexfridman – Medium: https://medium.com/@lexfridman OUTLINE: Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time. (00:00) – Introduction (07:24) – Economics (09:16) – Nuclear war (16:03) – The American dream (23:16) – Capitalism: pros and cons (29:50) – Is competition good for the world? (31:53) – Free market (32:57) – Anarchy (35:23) – Ayn Rand (40:04) – The case for big business (44:31) – Clubhouse (49:35) – Loneliness (51:47) – Eric Weinstein and economic growth (56:08) – Communism (58:58) – Putin (1:04:29) – China (1:09:21) – UBI (1:13:17) – Disagreement with Eric Weinstein (1:17:09) – Money, Bitcoin, and Ethereum (1:25:20) – WallStreetBets (1:29:16) – MIT (1:36:44) – UFO sightings (1:44:03) – Contemporary art is misunderstood (1:51:06) – Mexican food is the best in the world (1:55:56) – Jiro Dreams of Sushi (1:59:59) – Book recommendations (2:02:15) – Advice for young people (2:05:53) – Love (2:11:35) – Mortality (2:13:25) – Meaning of life