#48 - Jim Rutt - Why Capitalism Is Now A Game of Mind Control

<p>Capitalism has historically been our biggest blessing. But what if it's now turning into our biggest curse? Is it time to change the game?</p><p>My guest today believes so. Jim Rutt is an early internet pioneer, complexity scientist, former chairman of the Santa Fe Institute, and co-founder of the Game B movement... and he has a lot to say about how our economic and technological systems have trapped us in addictive, self-reinforcing feedback loops. From smartphones engineered like slot machines to markets that manufacture desire rather than meet real needs, he argues that our current “Game A” world runs on a single signal — money-on-money return — and that this monoculture is quietly eroding both our agency, and planetary stability.</p><p>Which is where “Game B” comes in: a post-capitalist operating system built on multidimensional value, regenerative economies, and what he calls "membranes" — local, self-governing communities that cooperate through trust, technology, and shared sensemaking rather than rivalry and coercion.</p><p>So if, like me, you increasingly feel that modern life is engineered to keep us divided and distracted, I highly recommend this episode. </p><p>Liv </p><p>Chapters:</p><p>01:42 - intro</p><p>03:38 - Tech hygiene practices</p><p>06:57 - what was the motivation for tech sabbaticals?</p><p>10:12 - why do people love slots?</p><p>15:02 - When did Jim decide to build responsibly?</p><p>21:38 - status games</p><p>23:34 - The market as an information system</p><p>31:38 - have the status games moved primarily to digital</p><p>38:42 - definition of game A and game B</p><p>52:14 - How to prevent system collapse?</p><p>01:05:52 - Have any practical experiments been conducted on game B?</p><p>01:18:00 - why game A is self terminating</p><p>01:27:45 - how do declining populations factor into planetary boundaries?</p><p>01:39:41 - how do we exit the game when we are within it?</p><p>01:41:45 - defeating the "Big Man"</p><p>01:49:18 - Jim's trillion dollar idea</p><p>02:00:31 - AI consciousness</p><p>02:14:36 - Consciousness vs Intelligence</p><p>02:22:48 - the dangers of ascribing consciousness to AI</p><p>02:26:32 - Rapid fire predictions</p><p>02:28:53 - Jim's WIN-WIN</p><p>Links: </p><p>♾️ The Jim Rutt Show: https://www.jimruttshow.com </p><p>♾️ Jim’s X: https://x.com/jim_rutt?lang=en </p><p>♾️ Game B wiki: https://www.gameb.wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page </p><p>♾️ Game B Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/gamebcore </p><p>♾️ Jim’s essay on smartphone dopamine: https://medium.com/@memetic007/reclaiming-our-cognitive-sovereignty-f49f30eb26bb </p><p>Credits:</p><p>♾️ Hosted by Liv Boeree</p><p>♾️ Produced by Luca de Vico</p><p>The Win-Win Podcast:</p><p>Poker champion Liv Boeree takes to the interview chair to tease apart the complexities of one of the most fundamental parts of human nature: competition. Liv is joined by top philosophers, gamers, artists, technologists, CEOs, scientists, politicians and more to understand how competition manifests in their world, and how to change seemingly win-lose systems into Win-Wins.</p><p>Podcast links:</p><p>♾️ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWgq0OZMtwtOIyMsVM_vksqdfWcM-b68S</p><p>♾️ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03bGVUaFZmJUmEvSHNDPdI?si=64379cc23696454f </p><p>♾️ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/win-win-with-liv-boeree/id1724791350 </p><p>♾️ Pocketcast: https://play.pocketcasts.com/podcasts/7f708340-d17c-013b-f46e-0acc26574db2</p>