Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have been the playground for libertarians and anarcho-capitalists predominantly since its inception. For me, as a leftist, it's been difficult to understand why criticism of bitcoin has mostly come from leftists. Maybe it's some reactionary reflex against a space that's mostly populated by their ideological adversaries...
source: YouTube
Either way, I think Bitcoin transcends the whole left-right debate and should be embraced by everyone. There are a couple of things we all agree on mostly, across the political and ideological spectrum, and one of those things is that governments and central banks have too much power, and that they use this power to benefit certain people over others. No matter if you're a right-wing conservative who thinks that government spends too much money on social security or socioeconomic justice, or a left-wing progressive who thinks that government spends too much money to subsidize the rich or multinationals. Bitcoin achieves this goal by putting money in the hands of we the people.
It's obvious why libertarians and anarcho-capitalists are all for Bitcoin; their world-view is based around pure individualism and the right to own individual property. As far as they're concerned there's no place for government at all, and if there is, it's only to protect those individual rights. They believe, mistakenly in my opinion, that society needs no further organization, none other than the "natural hierarchies" emerging from individuals' free and voluntary transactions. I'm going to be brutally honest here and say that that's just dumb. All power-relations are based in material inequality; minorities have less power because they have less material possessions on average, and rich people have lots of power because they have a lot of material possessions.
For leftists the benefits of Bitcoin are a lot less transparent. Leftists, on average, aren't nearly as individualist, but believe that society is as strong as the capability of its citizens to cooperate, work toward shared goals and provide a safety-net for its weakest and least fortunate members. So why should we, on the left, embrace Bitcoin, when it seems to be the anarcho-capitalist's dream come true? The answer to that question sits in the nature of Bitcoin versus the nature of the centralized power of a government and central bank. The answer is that we all want to be free from unwarranted power over us. We all want to be free from the tools of social engineering in the hands of a government that works for the capitalists and against the people. Yes, even the anarcho-capitalists want to be free from the power that capital currently holds over us all.
Fiat money is broken, and that's mainly because the power to issue new money is in the hands of governments and central banks. Money is an agreed upon means of exchange and store of value. That's it. A piece of paper with a picture of a dead white man and a number is worth nothing in itself. It's only our trust in the agreement we've all made that makes it worth anything. I trust that the ten dollar bill you give me for the old chair I had in the attic, will buy me ten dollars worth of goods on Amazon. But governments and central banks violate that trust by being able to manipulate the value of that ten dollar bill; they can print more dollars, thereby devaluing each dollar, that's called inflation. And we don't use cash money anymore; it's all digital money now, which gives governments and banks exponentially more power over us. Banks can freeze us out of our accounts. Banks are mandated to fork over our personal information to the government; just look into the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970. Like all laws that diminish our freedom, the name is highly manipulative; "Secrecy" has nothing to do with it, it's the opposite in fact, and a better name is its other title, the "Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act." "Reporting" is a lot different from "Secrecy," don't you think? But this is how government works always: the inheritance tax, used to tax the ultra rich, is called the "Death Tax," and the "Patriot Act" robs patriots from many freedoms.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer digital currency that transcends all that bullshit and empowers individuals by setting them free from banks and governments. Cubans can transfer money to their relatives in America and vice-versa. In minutes and with low fees. When cash fiat money is phased out, which will happen, you can still tip the cab driver if he or she has a Bitcoin wallet address. Central banks all over the world are now creating their own blockchain-based digital currencies, and if these currencies are accepted, their power over us will again grow exponentially; you can read all about that in my post Covid/CBDC Scam from last month. Freedom loving individuals, both from the left and the right should embrace Bitcoin, as it's the only honest money we have left. And only mass-adoption can shield it against the attempts from establishment powers to put an end to it. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are united when it comes to calling out Bitcoin as a threat, which should be an advertisement for Bitcoin to people from both sides. I invite you all to watch the hour long interview in the below linked video, and share it with friends and family that are not yet convinced of the many benefits of digital peer-to-peer cash.
Why are Hillary and Trump United in Warning of Bitcoin's Dangers? Interview with Alex Gladstein
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