Big fan of George Washington.

He organized a successful rebellion against the most powerful empire in the world.

The Brits who called him traitor grew to respect him. And the state he founded eventually exceeded its progenitor, as the sun set on the British Empire.

Good role model!

Big fan of George Washington.

He organized a successful rebellion against the most powerful empire in the world.

The Brits who called him traitor grew to respect him. And the state he founded eventually exceeded its progenitor, as the sun set on the British Empire.

Good role model!
https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

More seriously, I’m actually writing on this topic but let me offer a few quick remarks.

First, blockchains are digital governments. They provide property rights, contract laws, and verifiable identities across legacy borders. That is *intrinsically* political: it replaces states.

Author of The Network State.
Work with me: jobs.ns.com

More seriously, I’m actually writing on this topic but let me offer a few quick remarks.

First, blockchains are digital governments. They provide property rights, contract laws, and verifiable identities across legacy borders. That is *intrinsically* political: it replaces states. 
https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

Third, we need to be real. Powell is the pilot and he is crashing the plane. Any collapse/destruction is on him, and Yellen, and everyone who got us to this juncture. Crypto is just the parachute — not the pilot.

It’s absolutely imperative to keep this in mind or else you are shooting the messenger.

Fourth, technological disruption is the *opposite* of political stability.

The future isn’t exactly like the present, just with nicer gadgets. Was the 20th century just the same kings, except in royal cars?

No. Because old political institutions weren’t set up to deal with new technologies. Many didn’t survive.

All that said, I actually do think it’s important to emphasize the positive message, the constructive criticism.

The network state really isn’t anarchistic at all. It’s about a new kind of *state* after all. It’s one possible way to update governance.

I also am very supportive of people doing different things.

If your goal is mass adoption, sure, go ahead and pitch crypto in a normie way. It is absolutely true that it is a better way to send money and write financial programs. 

And you can choose to engage solely on that level.

I also am very supportive of people doing different things.

If your goal is mass adoption, sure, go ahead and pitch crypto in a normie way. It is absolutely true that it is a better way to send money and write financial programs. 

And you can choose to engage solely on that level.
https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

But the deeper question is *why* it’s a better way to send money and write financial programs.

Why is it better?

Because blockchains are digital governments.

They *replace* traditional governments for those functions.

That is why improvement in a regulated industry like finance has even become possible.

Once you understand that blockchains are digital governments, that they are a quiet global political revolution, and that they allow millions to opt out of bad states & into good networks…you have 3 choices.

You can get it.
You can not get it.
Or you can pretend to not get it.

All three are actually useful. Why?

If you get it, you’re proceeding eyes wide open. That’s why Satoshi was pseudonymous — he knew the impact of what he was doing, and that the state would try to shut down his new network if successful.

This is Neo level. It’s cliche but you see the Matrix.

If you don’t get it, but hold crypto, or build things on the APIs without realizing why they exist…that’s actually still useful.

This is normie level.

It’s like being a user of software. You don’t get how it all works under the hood. But you don’t need to, either. You just see that it’s useful to you.

Most normies don’t get the political importance of the things they do. When they incorporate an LLC, they don’t think[1] “this would have got me executed 45 years ago.”

They just incorporate the LLC.
[1]:

Most normies don’t get the political importance of the things they do. When they incorporate an LLC, they don’t think[1] “this would have got me executed 45 years ago.”

They just incorporate the LLC.
[1]: https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/01/20/145360447/the-secret-document-that-transformed-china

Lenin called normies “useful idiots”, but everyone is a normie about most things.

You are probably a normie on iron mining, or tariffs, or maritime shipping. You don’t know all the political history or tacit implications of your actions.

You just buy an iron dumbbell and it ships from China. It just works.

So, Neos get it. And normies don’t get it but still use crypto.

Finally you have the Neo normies, who get it but may pretend to not get it. They are Straussians.

I won’t point to any. But if you are stuck in a communist regime you’d be talking up crypto’s efficiency & talking down its revolutionary potential.

Second, the “collapse/destruction of society as we know it” has occurred many times through history.

Russians, Germans, Chinese, Indians — all endured such collapses in the 20th century. Most people did! Even Americans experienced Great Depression, two World Wars, and Cold War.

Long-term stability is unusual.

thanks for the thoughtful response and fresher perspective. where are you going to publish your writing on this? loved the quick remarks and would like to dive in deeper.

@balajis.eth You write in the Network State that Locke thought that the state should be the guarantor of private property. 

Should network states be afforded a monopoly on violence to enforce private property rights, as many liberal democracies have done?

I actually think is this is hand-wavy. I agree that blockchains provide all of these properties but there are tons more functionality states provide that blockchains don‘t and probably never will.