Podcast Summary: The Peter McCormack Show – PMQs #008

Episode Title: Why the Financial World Order is Shifting
Date: January 14, 2026
Host: Peter McCormack
Featured Guest: Conor McCormack

Overview

This episode of The Peter McCormack Show dives deep into the unraveling of the financial world order, the dysfunction of Western democracies, and the rise of state authoritarianism, with a particular focus on the UK and US. Peter and Conor discuss how the debt-based economic system is fueling inequality, leading to societal and political chaos, and why traditional political solutions are no longer viable. The show is both analytical and candid, combining political ranting with economic critique and a libertarian flavor throughout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Central Banks and Engineered Inequality

• Scott Bessant frames the Federal Reserve as the “engine of inequality,” pointing out that quantitative easing (QE) benefits asset holders at the expense of everyone else.
• Quote:

  “Ben Bernanke famously said... he told everyone go buy equities. Well, not everyone could buy equities. So we ended up with this two tier economy where either you were an asset holder or you weren't. I called the Fed the engine of inequality.” (Scott Bessant, 00:00)

• Peter expands on this, lamenting the broken mechanics of the debt-based system, which ensures the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, regardless of which party is in power.
• Quote:

  “This debt-based system will only make the rich richer and the poor poorer. The mechanics are screwed. It doesn’t matter who you vote in, you’re not voting yourself out of this.” (Peter McCormack, 00:22, 44:00, 43:59)

2. Political Dysfunction and Leadership Crisis in the UK

• Peter and Conor mock current UK leadership:
  • Both slam Keir Starmer’s government as chaotic, directionless, and defined by U-turns and weak leadership.
  • Conor: “They are weak individuals. They do not feel like leaders.... I look at them and I’m like, how the... How have you got to that place where you are governing our entire country?” (03:04)
• Peter suggests Starmer would go down as an historical non-entity or “the worst prime minister ever,” but ironically suggests Starmer could become a “legend” by rage-quitting and exposing the system.
• Quote:

  “Just rage quit. Come out and say, I’m done. I can’t do this. The whole system’s broken. ...You’ll go down as a legend.” (Peter McCormack, 05:54)

3. Free Speech, X (Twitter), and Authoritarian Drift in the UK

• The hosts dissect Labour’s attempt to clamp down on X (Twitter) after “Bikini Gate,” where AI images of people in bikinis, some involving children, led to demands for censorship.
• Keir Starmer clip:

  “Disgraceful. ...X need to get their act together. We will take action on this because it’s simply not tolerable.” (Keir Starmer, 07:08)

• Peter fiercely defends the necessity of free speech, especially speech we don’t like, and opposes platform bans in favor of prosecuting individuals who abuse the law.
• The rapid government response to ‘Bikini Gate’ is contrasted with the sluggish or absent response to more serious issues such as grooming gangs, suggesting political self-preservation is the motive.
• Memorable take:

  "If they ban this, what are they going to ban next? Podcasts?” (Conor McCormack, 15:24)

4. Democracy, Managed Decline, and Political Hopelessness

• The discussion shifts to the broader impotence of the political system:
  • Voting no longer offers a solution; changing party only changes the “manager of decline.”
  • Reform, Green, Labour, Conservative—it’s all the same, as none address the fundamental architecture of the debt-based financial system.
• Quotes:

  "Your only other option really is to vote it out. But if the mechanics of the system are broke itself, what are you really voting for? ...You’re voting for a new manager of decline.” (Peter McCormack, 20:40-21:39)
  "This is why I don’t vote. And I think that... our choice is we either vote in a party who accelerate the decline or we vote in a party that decelerates the decline. But whatever happens, we get decline.” (Peter McCormack, 45:58)

5. Fed Drama and US Parallels

• Discussion about the criminal investigation into Jerome Powell and the spiraling US debt.
• The hosts see the battle for Fed control as a proxy for more inflationary juicing ahead, regardless of administration, as political actors on both left and right seek to keep markets afloat through “lefty right authoritarianism.”
• Quote:

  “The Fed is meant to be independent, right? ...Their job is to control and support the economy. But we know Jerome Power hasn't been doing what Trump wants and so he's stepping down. ...if we flood the market with cheap money, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” (Peter McCormack, 43:54–44:09)

6. Media Complicity and the Need for Systemic Reform

• Peter and Conor speculate if mainstream media like the BBC are ignorant or complicit in propping up the financial order.
• The debate is a “theater,” a distraction from the real underlying issue: government spending, money creation, and who benefits.
• Quote:

  “Not enough people are talking—there should be no bigger conversation right now... The only conversation we should be having right now is what is the debt? Why does it exist? Who benefits from it? Who gets destroyed by it? And how the fuck do we stop it?” (Peter McCormack, 48:25)

7. Is Democratic Change Still Possible? The Milei Example

• The hosts reference Argentina’s election of Javier Milei as an example of a country that eventually embraced a radical libertarian Austrian solution when things got bad enough, but acknowledge the UK is likely a decade or more away from that level of desperation.
• Quote:

  “The UK needs ... a Milei type character... who understands libertarian principles and has the charisma and the media reach to sell this to enough people...” (Peter McCormack, 54:34, 55:45)

8. What Are the Options? Exit, Reform, or Adaptation

Peter’s three options for surviving the system:

1. Constitutional reform: Reduce government power to protecting life, liberty, and property.
2. Leave the country: Emigrate somewhere freer.
3. Exit as much of the system as possible while staying: Move savings into Bitcoin, shop local, build parallel economic networks, minimize dependence on the state.

• Quote:

  “I can exit the system but help other people exit the system. ...Put as much money as you can in bitcoin, do as much as you can in a cash based economy and then just focus locally... create parallel networks that operate outside of government.” (Peter McCormack, 61:59–62:23)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Broken System:

  “Nothing’s going to change if we get a reform government or we get a Green Party... It’s the same people. ...You’re voting for a new manager of decline.” (Peter McCormack, 20:40-21:39)

• On Rage Quitting and Honesty in Politics:

  “Just rage quit... I cannot fix this. ...I promise you, you’ll go down as a legend. But you’re not going to do it.” (Peter McCormack, 05:54–06:27)

• On Free Speech:

  “Free speech is a fundamental freedom that you want in a democratic society, and it’s not for the speech you like. It’s always to defend the speech you don’t like.” (Peter McCormack, 07:45)

• On Boiling Frog Decline:

  “It’s that slow decline, which is the boiling frog. Harder to see.” (Conor McCormack, 46:47–47:07)

• On Media Complicity:

  “Are they complicit? Are they stupid? ...Do they actually know about the mechanics of this?” (Peter McCormack, 48:10–48:21)

• On True Libertarian Governance:

  “Bastiat was very clear that the government should do one thing and one thing only, which is defend life, liberty and property. ...The fairest thing the government can do is as little as possible.” (Peter McCormack, 57:33)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Fed and QE’s role in inequality: 00:00–00:22; 38:00–39:12
• Government and political incompetence (Keir Starmer): 02:34–05:54
• Debate over free speech, 'Bikini Gate', and Labour's authoritarianism: 07:08–18:30
• Political parties & managed decline: 20:33–21:39
• Jerome Powell investigation and Fed/US parallels: 37:15–44:09
• Why voting won’t fix it: 45:58–47:07
• Discussion of libertarian alternatives and the example of Javier Milei: 53:09–56:20
• Peter’s “three options” for escaping the system: 61:59–62:23

Tone & Style

The episode is irreverent, skeptical, and at times darkly humorous, with a recurring sense of frustration at institutional incompetence and the inertia of the status quo. Peter is passionate and unapologetic, while Conor provides pointed, youthful counterpoints and skepticism.

Conclusion

This episode is a bracing indictment of Western economic and political decay, with a call for radical libertarian reform or, barring that, individual and community-driven self-preservation. The hosts reject the possibility of electoral solutions within the current system and lay out the case for more fundamental change—either by a “Milei-type” leader or by opting out as much as possible.

[End of Summary]