A Most Peaceful Revolution
Make no mistake: Bitcoiners are revolutionaries.
The State always grows. Participating in the democratic process only empowers it as devotees reward it through votes in exchange for entitlements.
Bitcoiners reject this. Understanding that the only winning move in politics is to not play - they abandoned the rules with a totally independent monetary system.
This predictably enraged the State-dependents. It is no coincidence that Bitcoin’s most hysterical critics overwhelmingly benefit from the State.
All mainstream newspapers have nothing but mockery for an asset that went from 0 to $1 trillion in a decade, with no venture backing, IPO, or founder - just an open-source body of maintainers.
War
We aren’t in a prelude to war - we are living it.
War isn’t explicit anymore - people don’t fight on an open battlefield.
War is sanctions, insurgencies, IEDs, drone strikes, infrastructure sabotage a-la NordStream, and virtual rebellion.
Bitcoin is at war with the State that tries to control everything. It provides a stable, State-independent system of property rights that outcompetes less stable State-dependent ones.
Bitcoin challenges the State’s most treasured privilege: the ability to finance itself through inflation and seignorage, as well as other repressive tools a significant fraction of the world lives under - capital controls and local exchange rate manipulation.
The world’s couple dozen most authoritarian, inflationary regimes are threatened by its existence. The most vibrant p2p Bitcoin markets are in such States.
Political Revolution
Bitcoin differs from other cryptocurrencies by its soul.
Reinventing a monetary system takes irrational zeal and an unwavering commitment to a firm vision of the future.
No other project is building a system to last decades and face the State head on.
Success for other cryptocurrencies is an exit. In stark contrast, for Bitcoiners, success is the day when no exit is required.
People confused the blockchain revolution as a technological one:
“if we can create the most advanced algorithm for securing a blockchain, we will win”
But it was always a political revolution.
Going against the State requires hundreds of millions of diehards that believe in a stable set of values - clever cryptographic gimmicks cannot inspire and win devotion.
Bitcoin Values
Bitcoinism is an emergent philosophy, embodying a consistent set of values:
Bitcoin’s Values
These are not features of Bitcoin - they are Bitcoin.
The values are the system - the code simply automates the values. Bitcoiners are serious about retaining the foundational properties because to alter them is to kill the system.
Alternative projects hold their values very weakly - they pride innovation over consistency.
The Future
You may deride Bitcoin, no matter - it will be there for you when you need it.
You may not need it now, but as we plunge into a more despotic, financially-repressive, authoritarian, and chaotic world, you may one day feel comfort knowing that the world’s highest assurance wealth protection system in history is waiting patiently for you.
— originally posted on 2 minute bitcoin https://2minutebitcoin.org and https://www.2minutebitcoin.org/blog/bitcon-a-most-peaceful-revolution
Original Author: Nic Carter
Original Word Count: 4227
Original Posted Date: September 7, 2019
Original Source: https://medium.com/@nic__carter/a-most-peaceful-revolution-8b63b64c203e
In the digital age, things happen gradually, then suddenly fast. Hyperinflation, bank runs and crises all unravel at the speed of light. Bitcoin exists as a life raft - the solution to the money problem that is global QE.