Hacking, Crackdowns, and FOMO: Paradox Politics’ 2022 Crypto Predictions
2021 was the year crypto went mainstream.
NFTs minted Beeple and Bored Apes into cultural reference points. Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook 'Meta' to reflect plans to dominate the Metaverse. And El Salvador recognized Bitcoin as...
Meta Bans Israeli ‘Cyber Mercenaries’ That Targeted Journalists, Palestinians, and Activists
Meta has banned from its platform four 'cyber mercenary' firms headquartered in Israel, which the company says conducted surveillance on human rights activists, journalists, and "critics of authoritarian regimes."
“These companies are part of a...
These Were Paradox Politics’ Most Popular Stories in 2021
Since launching in February, Paradox Politics has published a plethora of theory, commentary, and reporting. We've interviewed luminaries such as Noam Chomsky and Steven Pinker, scoured Pentagon reports on how the U.S. military will...
Is the Psychedelia Enlightenment Train Just Another Corporate Control Mechanism?
The global economy mirrors an acid trip.
With the ongoing labor shortage, the persistence of meme stocks, and simultaneous emerging markets (including one for psychedelics), a collective euphoria is underway in what has been dubbed...
Harvard Psychologist Steven Pinker Believes Humanity Is Entering a Post-Scarcity Period
Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker is siding with contrarian optimists: Humanity is entering a post-scarcity economy, rather than a pre-scarcity paradigm.
“If I was forced to come down on one side or the other, I would...
How the Catholic Church and McDonald’s Transform Genius Into Real Estate Empires
Underneath Michelangelo’s the “Creation of Adam” fresco in the Sistine Chapel, an African cardinal in a COVID-era mask beckons dozens of tourists passing through the country of God.
“Silence,” says the religious figure.
Europeans in American...
Florida’s Fake Media Boom Imploded. Locals Are Cackling In the Aftermath
A car blew up outside a semi-abandoned mall in South Florida. Other Florida locals and I smiled as we drove past the scene.
We had good reason for relief. For one, the driver seemed okay....
Afghanistan Frontlines: How America’s Cash Boom Fueled Corruption and the Taliban’s Rise
MAZAR-E-SHARIF, Afghanistan – Soon after the morning prayers and the first hints of daylight on Monday, a statement rang out through the speakers of the dramatically altered northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, which fell to...
BlackRock’s Gobbling of Homes Is Fueling Neo-Feudalism. Why Does Only the Populist Right Understand...
The dystopian nightmare of billions of propertyless workers serving a minority of landowning elites is already here. But many Americans awoke to this reality following a Wall Street Journal report outlining how BlackRock and...
Did Bitcoin Maximalism Become Fanaticism at the Miami Conference?
God may be dead, but religion isn’t.
The “Bitcoin 2021” conference brought together a ten-thousand-plus legion of devoted believers. Founders, investors, developers, day traders, and retail hodlers swarmed the modern-day Vatican of the Bitcoin movement:...
