168. Blockchain Imperialism and the Pacific Ideology (ft. Olivier Jutel)

We’re joined by Olivier Jutel to talk about a fantastic paper he wrote on blockchain imperialism in the Pacific. We discuss how blockchain projects and crypto entrepreneurs are partnering with the US State Department and contributing to the geopolitical agenda of American hegemony. This is all part of the Pacific Ideology – a long history of treating the Pacific islands as a colonial frontier for financial extraction and testbed for experimental innovation. It’s techno-solutionism in the service of imperial soft power. ••• Read Olivier’s paper – Blockchain imperialism in the Pacific https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951720985249 ••• And his other paper – Blockchain humanitarianism and crypto-colonialism https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(21)00305-6 ••• Follow Oliver: https://twitter.com/OJutel Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/ Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)