balajis.eth on Farcaster

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Big fan of George Washington. He organized a successful rebellion against the most powerful empire in the world. The Brits who called him traitor grew to respect him. And the state he founded eventually exceeded its progenitor, as the sun set on the British Empire. Good role model! https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

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More seriously, I’m actually writing on this topic but let me offer a few quick remarks. First, blockchains are digital governments. They provide property rights, contract laws, and verifiable identities across legacy borders. That is *intrinsically* political: it replaces states. https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

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Second, the “collapse/destruction of society as we know it” has occurred many times through history. Russians, Germans, Chinese, Indians — all endured such collapses in the 20th century. Most people did! Even Americans experienced Great Depression, two World Wars, and Cold War. Long-term stability is unusual.

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Third, we need to be real. Powell is the pilot and he is crashing the plane. Any collapse/destruction is on him, and Yellen, and everyone who got us to this juncture. Crypto is just the parachute — not the pilot. It’s absolutely imperative to keep this in mind or else you are shooting the messenger.

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Fourth, technological disruption is the *opposite* of political stability. The future isn’t exactly like the present, just with nicer gadgets. Was the 20th century just the same kings, except in royal cars? No. Because old political institutions weren’t set up to deal with new technologies. Many didn’t survive.

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All that said, I actually do think it’s important to emphasize the positive message, the constructive criticism. The network state really isn’t anarchistic at all. It’s about a new kind of *state* after all. It’s one possible way to update governance.

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I also am very supportive of people doing different things. If your goal is mass adoption, sure, go ahead and pitch crypto in a normie way. It is absolutely true that it is a better way to send money and write financial programs. And you can choose to engage solely on that level. https://warpcast.com/ted/0x8fa0f9

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But the deeper question is *why* it’s a better way to send money and write financial programs. Why is it better? Because blockchains are digital governments. They *replace* traditional governments for those functions. That is why improvement in a regulated industry like finance has even become possible.

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Once you understand that blockchains are digital governments, that they are a quiet global political revolution, and that they allow millions to opt out of bad states & into good networks…you have 3 choices. You can get it. You can not get it. Or you can pretend to not get it. All three are actually useful. Why?

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