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Do you think those lefties are still bitcoiners?
I've thought about that and I honestly don't know. The total get together was maybe 50 people and there was a group of 5 or 6 socialist (maybe more)....I say that because during one of the speeches they started a back and forth with the speaker where they were advocating for gov involvement in bitcoin to 'regulate it'. They were loudly booed, which then escalated to them outing themselves as saying capitalism is evil, etc etc.
I somehow think that they either adopted more austrian views, or perhaps they moved off to some shitcoin project, or who knows maybe they are still with us....however what struck me at the time was that the online presence of bitcoin (ie. bitcointalk.org and /r/bitcoin) was basically libertarian only vibes. So they were either lurking or maybe more likely bitcoin is discussed on other leftist forums that I never saw....
So the age-old question, do leftists who find bitcoin become libertarian in time (=my prediction) or do they turn bitcoin into woke fest (what ostensibly seems to happen)??
Great question, I have a hard time understanding how anyone could both actually understand the benefits of bitcoin and also be pro big gov. But that is probably my own mental biases as I tend to first approach things from a philosophical / ideological basis, then later decide if I like said thing....
If anyone is pro bitcoin and pro big gov, then it's likely because they have some view of the world that the wrong people are currently in charge and if only the right people were put in charge, that would solve our problems.
But I think that perspective fails to understand that power itself corrupts. Even if you put well-meaning people into positions of power, a significant fraction of those people will become corrupted.
that the wrong people are currently in charge and if only the right people were put in charge, that would solve our problems.
interesting version of it. Not sure that's what I'm getting from e.g., Jason Maier
ah, i didn't have anyone specific in mind. maybe just a caricature of the kind of leftists who hates the "banks" and the "establishment", but imagine a utopian government led by comrades and fellow travelers
There’s a pretty decent pitch that can be made to progressives. I think you’re right though about them drifting away from statism once they get in.
There’s a pretty decent pitch that can be made to progressives.
Yes and I do wish that bitcoin messaging focused more on the tangible social benefits of having sound money, rather than pure NGU or semi-irrelevant tech-bro debates about quantum computing, NFTs, covenants, etc.
Having people see clearly what the problem is (ie. money printing) is arguably more important for society than just direct bitcoin advocacy....and regardless bitcoin is the natural beneficiary of such thinking.
Yes, sadly this is another case of 2 sides looking at the same problem but diagnosing it differently.
Its absolutely true that the wealth gap is growing, its absolutely true that excessive financial speculation is a problem (its easier to speculate than to actually build things which would help actually employee people), etc.
However a primary cause of these issues is money printing, which is a state-sponsored function.
So its illogical to create a false dichotomy of "state vs rampant economic machine", since it is the state that created that machine.
Side note: The first real life bitcoin get together I went to (I forget the year but maybe was 2017), what impressed me the most was the number of hard core leftist there. I was coming from Austrian / Ancap view, so was surprised to see actual socialist at the get together....that told me Bitcoin was actually going to be something, since the far-left and right were both seeing it as a tool to improve the world.