The intensified spread of more extremist forms of socialism in countries where the idea of freedom for the individual has served as a cornerstone of society, but is now increasingly considered only as an afterthought, illustrates this well. The ideal of democracy is a noble cause, no doubt, but the decay of liberal western democratic societies, with spiraling debt levels and increasingly polarized proletariats, combined with the rise to power of more authoritarian states like China, points to the fact that our natural concern for others descends into flailing pedagogy unless it's built upon a strong foundation of personal responsibility. Bitcoin points to a possible future of decentralized societal governance that is superior in fairness, transparency, efficiency and resilience. Not only that but decentralized governance holds many significant advantages (and very few disadvantages) over centralized alternatives. But indirectly it will change so much more than just that, because it proves that decentralized self-governance is possible across a global network. Let alone a structure that's accrued over a trillion dollars in value.īitcoin has already changed the way we think about and use money. I struggle to think of any other complex structure that's as widely distributed as the Bitcoin network and yet entirely voluntary in terms of its governance. Pete Rizzo's recent article on the last days of Satoshi illustrates just how unique Bitcoin is in terms of its leaderless nature, by highlighting the fact that its move toward leaderlessness happened organically, rather than being preordained by its creator. We shouldn't over complicate it and attribute to it things that aren't directly connected to it.īut it is useful to consider Bitcoin's commentary on society to see how it might change society as a result of what it's proved. I'm not trying to define Bitcoin in absolute terms, instead I'm simply pointing out that its simplicity is a good thing. It provides us with a better form of money. Bitcoin simply points in that direction, just like a Google Maps listing for a mechanic isn't going to fix my broken car until I find the actual repair shop.

I do not believe that Bitcoin is the solution here. In many ways, we live in a world where the blind are leading the blind. If we extrapolate that idea from the microcosm of a family to the macrocosm of entire societies, what sort of world can we expect when millions of government officials (governing billions of people) are unable to take responsibility for their own lives? Addiction, depression, schizophrenia and everything else that ordinary people struggle with are problems also faced (but not easily acknowledged) by even the most powerful people.

An inconvenient truth (book)