I think this is less about Bitcoin being screwed, and more a criticism of the neo-libertarian escapist approach to economics.
That we all depend on the systems that govern our world, from the clean(er) laws physics of it all the way up to the wet, nasty dynamics that emerge from collective human behaviour, and no clever use of technology will ever make that not true.
Technology can (and often does) make those systems better, though. And focusing on that instead of building a worldview around the escapist fantasy seems prudent
I mean the thought process that goes something like
1. markets are (mostly) good
2. government intervention is (mostly) bad
Therefore:
3. anything that takes power away from government, especially if it increases the role of some kind of market, is good
Which leads to a worldview where the ultimate utopia is one free of the burdens of the government intervention, and you get things like people trying to build side-economies free of regulation (like much of crypto), or private island utopias.
I find it's a blinding ideology, and doesn't really match with my observations of the crypto world so far.
The vast majority of what I see in the crypto space is that it's a safe haven for fraud, money laundering, and the transfer of wealth from the uninformed and/or trusting to the savvy and/or untrustworthy. I see very little other purpose emerging so far. And none of those things seem like they are net positives in the world.
Comments
I think this is less about Bitcoin being screwed, and more a criticism of the neo-libertarian escapist approach to economics.
That we all depend on the systems that govern our world, from the clean(er) laws physics of it all the way up to the wet, nasty dynamics that emerge from collective human behaviour, and no clever use of technology will ever make that not true.
Technology can (and often does) make those systems better, though. And focusing on that instead of building a worldview around the escapist fantasy seems prudent
Can you define to me what you mean by that?
I mean the thought process that goes something like
1. markets are (mostly) good
2. government intervention is (mostly) bad
Therefore:
3. anything that takes power away from government, especially if it increases the role of some kind of market, is good
Which leads to a worldview where the ultimate utopia is one free of the burdens of the government intervention, and you get things like people trying to build side-economies free of regulation (like much of crypto), or private island utopias.
I find it's a blinding ideology, and doesn't really match with my observations of the crypto world so far.
The vast majority of what I see in the crypto space is that it's a safe haven for fraud, money laundering, and the transfer of wealth from the uninformed and/or trusting to the savvy and/or untrustworthy. I see very little other purpose emerging so far. And none of those things seem like they are net positives in the world.