Bitcoin Forum

Playing with the self-moderated option.

Walter L.J. Rothbard, anarchist and perpetual latecomer to all that is good in Bitcoin.  Freedom lover.  Altcoin enthusiast.  Dinosaur.

Some personal reading recommendations:
The Uncle Eric Books (http://www.bluestockingpress.com/recommended_reading_order.htm) by Richard Maybury (especially Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? and Whatever Happened to Justice?)
What Has Government Done to Our Money? (http://mises.org/money.asp) by Murray Rothbard
Time Will Run Back (http://mises.org/books/time.pdf) by Henry Hazlitt
For a New Liberty (http://mises.org/rothbard/newlibertywhole.asp) by Murray Rothbard

And a viewing recommendation:
The Philosophy of Liberty (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I)

Test.

Finally, a thread about one of my favorite Bitcoiners ;D

Thanks Mike - I like you, too!

Guess that thread title makes me look pretty pompous.  I was thinking I might turn this into something like a personal wiki page, extended profile, extended signature, something like that.

Cool, I see I can delete, but not edit...

That game would lend itself to certain abuses.... :D

Hey Walter, what are your thoughts on all these anarcho-X titles?  Do you feel it complicates the theory?

My feeling is that most of those labels have a little bit of additional information to contribute.  Anarcho-capitalist is a very good title, IMO, as long as you don't think capitalism means business cooperating with government.  The other names help elucidate exactly what anarchy means, how it would work, or why the particular anarchist came to his convictions.

Of course a couple labels clue me in to the fact that the "anarchist" speaking to me isn't an anarchist at all and just wants some other form of control.  I'm all into voluntaryism and absolutely not about coerced communism/socialism.  The social order that emerges from pure voluntary cooperation is beautiful and productive - and it certainly includes a lot of pooled resources and people casting their fate together in various ways and partnerships.  But when people talk about stripping the government down and replacing it with all sorts of social controls, I know that really what they mean is, they just want to be in charge.

At some point I read an article by Murray Rothbard talking about the libertarian tendency to see common ground with various groups and how to evaluate whether you really have common ground or not.  His basic conclusion was that anyone who would "push the button" is a true ally.  I'm pretty sure this was the article:

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard75.html



I would push the button, in a heartbeat!  And I hope that cryptocurrency is that button, or a means to finding it.  That is why even though my Bitcoin holdings are meager, I get so happy when the price goes up - it's a measure of the adoption of something that may be the button. :)

I think the push the button reference exists in some of Rothbard's other writings as well.

Thanks, Walter; that's very illuminating.  Do you think the collapse of the dollar and the temporary breakage of the world economy will lead people closer to libertarianism, or closer to authority leading to totalitarianism?  It seems in the past, every time there's an economic crisis, people run to get protection from their political leaders, as opposed to pushing them away in disgust that they'd been working for the folks that done it to them.  They demand their leaders provide them with what they need to survive, as opposed to stepping outside of the box and just fixing the problem on their own.  However, with the advent of the Internet, it appears that people are far more informed about modern events and well versed in concepts of liberty and rationalism that such an event might provide an opportunity to escape such a system.  I fear that such a message hasn't spread far enough fast enough OTOH, and we'll have to fight through another 30-something year round of irrationality before the monetary system flops yet again and provides another opportunity for a critical shift in our methods of governance.

I'm not sure there's any way to tell.  I would hope that Bitcoin means there is now a very great method for people to make a big dent in the level of control that the state can have.  It is true that crises before have led people to pick other tyrants - there are a number of people who even view the American Revolution in that light.  But maybe with the new protection afforded by Bitcoin, people can protect themselves from the next round of tyrants as well.  Maybe more of us will make that choice. :)

You're also right that there's now a much better dispersal of libertarian ideals - more people are informed about liberty than they have been in a long time.  Unfortunately a lot of times tyrants are able to capitalize on that with rhetoric about freedom.  I know I was duped this way by the Republican Party for years. :(


Maybe with Bitcoin, they will have a lot less wealth to bring into their new system. :)

I take credit for the current Bitcoin rally - I sold a bit of my meager holdings yesterday.  I knew it was bound to go up.

Worth watching and reading about: the Christmas Truce of WWI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-MGfNsgB3A

Seriously, what if they gave a war and nobody came?

It would be complete anarchy. Oh noes!
Nice to have you around Walter. It's always great to read from polite, well informed individuals like yourself.

Thanks, Silver.  It's a pleasure to interact with such liberated minds here and get a glimpse into the future.

Wonderful educational tool: The Philosophy of Liberty:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muHg86Mys7I