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Does anyone here use Bitcoins?
40hz:
Ask anybody who's tried minting their own stable-resource-backed money, like the banks used to do in the good/bad old days. -Edvard (April 18, 2013, 09:57 PM)
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Uh-huh. Back in the late counter-culture/commune days (1969-1975) it was tried fairly often. I had...um...a friend...who was involved with some folks who made a very serious attempt at doing just that.
The only result was a rather sharp lesson in realpolitik, the mind-bogglingly awesome power of government, and what sort of response you can expect from 'authority challenged.'
That's when I lost my girlish laughter and romantic illusions about social activism. Bringing about social change is not a polite parlor game. It's a tough, often ugly, and very very real struggle at the best of times. And when it succeeds, it invariably comes with a pretty steep price tag attached.
That hasn't stopped me from still getting involved from time to time. But when I do, I no longer have any illusions about the other side playing fair or being constrained either by its own laws or constitutional limits. When sufficiently questioned and challenged, virtually every government goes into "wounded rhino" mode and viciously attacks everything in sight.
That's why I thought that the bitcoin revolutionaries and Libertarians had no idea of what they were getting themselves into if they planned on pursuing a "pirate" agenda when it came to money. Anything which might destabilize national currencies simply won't be tolerated. Period.
When I first heard of BitCoins, I said to myself that this was eventually going to happen.
It always does... :(
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Yep. Always.
Something my...uh...friend learned first hand some years ago. ;)
wraith808:
And a good snippet from that article that mirrors a lot of the reasons behind BitCoins...
The Gold Reserve Act had economic ramifications far beyond national finance. At that time many contracts stipulated that their monetary terms could be demanded in gold. Such gold clauses were intended to protect against the United States devaluing the dollar.
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40hz:
If anybody cares to read a real Libertarian wet dream novel about an economic revolution succeeding, take a gander at Schulman's book Alongside Night.
The story is set in United States experiencing economic collapse, with inflation increasing rapidly and the government struggling to keep its power. Trading in foreign currency has become illegal and many shops are subject to rationing. As a result there is a black market for most goods. The setting represents the world as Samuel Edward Konkin III conceived it would be just prior to a successful agorist revolution.
The story begins with Elliot Vreeland, son of Nobel Laureate economist Dr Martin Vreeland (an economist of the Austrian school) hearing of his father's apparent death and being rushed home from school. He discovers quickly that the death is fake, a plot concocted by his father (after receiving a tip-off) to escape arrest by the FBI who are collecting "radicals" accused by the government of worsening the economic crisis...
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It's a fun read that fits right into the long tradition of picaresque storytelling. It's also less likely to get you put on a government 'watch list' than online purchases of old Loompanics titles probably will.
:tellme:
I understand they're also making a movie which is due out in July of this year. Be interesting to see where you'll be able to catch it. I'm guessing it will end up going straight to DVD.
KynloStephen66515:
This whole BitCon Bitcoin fiasco is fun to read about :P
KynloStephen66515:
much the same way it once outlawed individual possession of gold coins and bullion.
-40hz (April 18, 2013, 08:37 PM)
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wait...what? You guys can't own gold?! Since when? o.0
-Stephen66515 (April 19, 2013, 06:13 AM)
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@Stephen - we can now. Couldn't for a good number of years starting in 1933 and ending in 1975. See here.
Remember, this is the land of the "free" and the home of the brave.
(see attachment in previous post)
-40hz (April 19, 2013, 07:01 AM)
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;D
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