Bitcoin Forum

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/04/29/collected-quotations-of-the-dread-pirate-roberts-founder-of-the-drug-site-silk-road-and-radical-libertarian/

Wow, DPR seems to be a straight-up mises.org libertarian (with a Konkin/agorist bent (of course!)) who understands the doctrine well and has probably participated in a lot of online debate, judging from the polish of his arguments and the way he anticipates the common objections with seasoned finesse, as if he's been doing it for a long time.

That was a very interesting read. DPR seems like the real deal.

Isn't it amazing to see dprs words up on forbes in such depth.

Unthinkable just half a year ago.

Wow, intriguing and devoted read.  Thanks.

Frankly I'd like to see him as one of the official press contacts on bitcoin.org.  ;)

Seconded.

me too!  ;D

I haven't read much from him before. He sounds like a great guy, and a real asset to our community. Hopefully he doesn't get caught.

Interesting read, reminds me of those years I spent slowly settling into my own libertarian beliefs, mulling over the various philosophies and strategies before finding agorism/voluntarism. I haven't debated these issues in a while now, but aren't "private police", as DPR mentions, inconsistent with agorism/voluntarism? Not trying to turn this press post into a political thread, but I seem to recall voluntarism as adhering to a reputation system that punishes through withholding and ultimately through exile, rather than private police and prisons. Perhaps this distinction is what draws the line between voluntarism and anarchocapitalism.

Thank you for posting this!

Sometimes I can't help but think DPR is Satoshi. He would have created Bitcoin for the ultimate goal of creating The Silk Road.

Notice how Satoshi disappeared from the community in late 2010, and The Silk Road opened in February 2011, a surprisingly early Bitcoin adopter. DPR also obviously has a financial background and relates to Austrian economics. Both DPR and Satoshi have technical/cryptographic skillsets. One reason for Satoshi wanting to remain anonymous would be to hide his involvement with The Silk Road. Plus Satoshi always said that he is "moving to other projects" when leaving Bitcoin. Etc.

This theory actually makes a lot of sense!

Other than that, I'm glad to see such a well-spoken freedom-loving person get so much space in a major news outlet.

Posted to https://plus.google.com/u/0/100577178258662783679/posts/76UcUX4Py2c

Interesting theory, but I wouldn't be that sure. Satoshi looked much more reserved than DPR. The latter expresses his political ideas much more eloquently than the former.

Thanks OP for sharing and thanks Andy Greenberg for compiling this collection.


+1

+1

Per my theory, the character of Satoshi was all a facade: he would not have wanted to disclose too much of his ideologies precisely to avoid identifying him as The Silk Road founder :)

PS: also notice that Satoshi is known to prefer british spelling and expressions. And DPR uses british spelling too ("labour" on page 3 of this forbes.com article).

"I figured it out, I finally know who Satoshi is!"

"Really? Who?"

"Dread Pirate Roberts!"

"Who's that?"

"I dont know, some anomyous person or group."

+1
A very good read indeed.

There are several people whose writings and thinking seem remarkably the same as DPR.  He writes "Something that made sense, was simple, elegant and consistent in all cases. I’m talking about the Austrian Economic theory, voluntaryism, anarcho-capitalism, agorism etc."  Compare that to the stories at How I became a Voluntaryist (http://voluntaryist.com/howibecame/index.html) and you'll see that there is a kind of philosophical attractor that draws every very thoughtful person toward these things.  I think DPR has gone further in that direction than I have, but I'm not sure about Satoshi.  I'd like to read more from Satoshi, though it doesn't really matter to me if the same person wears both masks.

What matters to me is that we find a way to draw more people toward this philosophical attractor.  It's why I built litmocracy and meme racing (see my sig).  And if that seems self serving, well, I can only quote DPR: "I have basic human needs that money allows me to meet so that I may devote my time to our cause. I also enjoy a few first-world pleasures that I feel I have earned, but nothing extravagant. In fact, compared to most I know, I still live quite frugally."  My wife is a different story, but she is very early on the path.

good one

+1
Yes, very good one ;-)

No way. S was way to mild to be DPR. Plus, why would he put the entire economy at risk were he to be found out, just to make a few extra dollars given how mind-bogglingly intelligent he was? Plus the skillset does not match up.

The skillsets do match: they are obviously both into cryptography, TOR users, coders, etc.

I believe DPR is not one man, but a series of individuals who periodically pass the name and reputation to a chosen successor, see The Princess Bride.

Awesome Article... Loved every word of it.

...Getting DPR as a press contact might be a little tricky considering the MSM usually wants to interview press contacts... Not a great way to keep his identity, i'd think.



No, that's not really the mainstream thought about private police among AnCaps... Here's a condensed, illustrated version of "The Machinery of Freedom" narrated by David Friedman himself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYkdEU_B4o (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYkdEU_B4o)

(Wish I knew how to embed... Someone PM me with that info, plz!)

nah.