korrents
Balaji Srinivasan

What Balaji Srinivasan thinks about government

@balaji-srinivasan · 25 positions · 0 changes of mind

Co-founder of Counsyl and of Earn.com; a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz from 2013 to 2018 and chief technology officer of Coinbase from 2018 to 2019. Wrote The Network State, which he publishes free and in full at thenetworkstate.com, and writes at balajis.com.

Everything they publish, on ppll ↗

Balaji Srinivasan did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

7 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Balaji Srinivasan has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingNew laws often get enacted the way untested code is pushed to production: unread, poorly monitored, slow to show results, and hard to opt out of.

    Their wordsnew laws are like code that is pushed live to production without even being read (let alone tested), often in the face of tremendous opposition, affecting millions of citizens, with minimal monitoring to ensure they’re producing the desired results, an extremely slow customer feedback cycle, and few ways to truly opt out.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 1st of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  3. Our readingStrong encryption limits what governments can do in ways that legislation cannot.

    Their wordsEncryption thus limits governments in a way no legislation can.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 2nd of 25 in this piece

    privacy

    Interesting

  5. Our readingThe Network is becoming the next Leviathan after God and the State, because on key dimensions it is growing more powerful and more just than the State.

    Their wordsIn this sense, the Network is the next Leviathan, because on key dimensions it is becoming more powerful and more just than the State.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 3rd of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  7. Our readingPrivate networks like Uber, Lyft, email and SpaceX already outperform their state counterparts — taxi medallions, the USPS and NASA.

    Their wordsAs mentioned before, Uber and Lyft are better regulators than the State’s paper-based taxi medallions, email is superior to the USPS, and SpaceX is out-executing NASA.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 5th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  9. Our readingThe US federal government has lost the capacity to build basic infrastructure, let alone advanced military hardware.

    Their wordsThis US government can’t build a bathroom in San Francisco, let alone a costeffective fighter jet, destroyer, combat ship, or aircraft carrier.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 17th of 25 in this piece

    infrastructurewar

    Interesting

  11. Our readingMicronations like Sealand fail because they start from territory and government rather than building outward from a people and shared culture.

    Their wordsThis gives us a new perspective on why micronations like Sealand don’t work: they start backwards, from the territory and the government, rather than working forwards from a people and their culture.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 20th of 25 in this piece

    Interesting

  13. Our readingA government is legitimate internally if the governed have consented to it, whatever form it takes.

    Their wordsGiven the consent of the governed, any form of government is internally legitimate.

    ↗The Network Statethenetworkstate.com 22nd of 25 in this piece

    Interesting