The internet has allowed the government to do things it always has, social engineering, on a scale never before encountered. What is supposed to be freedom is actually "enough rope to hang yourself."
A major premise: there is no secrecy on the internet. OK, everyone already knows that, except some people make some exceptions, for example PGP, and of course Bitcoins, and some other examples.
No. The keys to those are all held by the security services one way or another, and nothing is secret. If two people know something, then the chances of it being kept zero are near nil. The more valuable a secret, say Bitcoins keys, the more someone will sell it, or the security services will compromise a secret-keeper.
But Bitcoins originated in social engineering, and it is oddly being associated with the Austrian school of economics. Happily leaders in the field are on the record as either ambivalent or outright critics, so when that scam crashes, there will be no Austrian school economic trail.
Bitcoins are tallies. If you step back and look at what is there, and then ignore all of the rationalizations, it is just a tally system of, whatever. Not money.
Update, the debate rages on:
And in any event, the bitcoin people are not arguing that each bitcoin tout is acting subjectively, the bitcoin touts are arguing there is an objective value to bitcoins. Internal contradiction there.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
A major premise: there is no secrecy on the internet. OK, everyone already knows that, except some people make some exceptions, for example PGP, and of course Bitcoins, and some other examples.
No. The keys to those are all held by the security services one way or another, and nothing is secret. If two people know something, then the chances of it being kept zero are near nil. The more valuable a secret, say Bitcoins keys, the more someone will sell it, or the security services will compromise a secret-keeper.
But Bitcoins originated in social engineering, and it is oddly being associated with the Austrian school of economics. Happily leaders in the field are on the record as either ambivalent or outright critics, so when that scam crashes, there will be no Austrian school economic trail.
Bitcoins are tallies. If you step back and look at what is there, and then ignore all of the rationalizations, it is just a tally system of, whatever. Not money.
Update, the debate rages on:
We often hear that gold and silver have intrinsic value. This statement is false. Austrian economics teaches us that value is subjective. Nothing has intrinsic value. Goods only have the value that individuals assign to them.Yes, this basic tenet makes for an excellent analytical tool. But my subjective valuation of gold or silver does not negate any intrinsic value it may have. That no one person can objectively value anything really ought not be controversial, but it does pull the rug out from under those who claim 535 people in a legislature can make a good decision for everyone else. 535 subjective valuations are not a valid or reliable sample of the preferences of 350 million people.
And in any event, the bitcoin people are not arguing that each bitcoin tout is acting subjectively, the bitcoin touts are arguing there is an objective value to bitcoins. Internal contradiction there.
Feel free to forward this by email to three of your friends.
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