Ok but we are talking in one case about ignoring authority and in the other defying or maybe even out right combating authority. This is because it is in the economic interest of consumers to avoid the white market in intellectual property where as with bitcoin its in the economic interest of most individuals to chose the white market over the grey market that is the bitcoin community.

Where did make that claim?

My comment on a point that keeps coming up in bitcoin articles - how hashing isn't "useful".

Yeah-- "democratic" is such a loaded word. Everybody loves democracy, so I didn't want to bash it.

Nice article, 2nd comment up is almost an article too and a good one, no idea who the turnip head knocking bitcoin to push litecoin is though :/

I don't quite understand, what is to stop for example Paypal from buying a shitload of ASICs (or FPGAs should ASICs all be a fraud) and shut down the network by DOS?
I fear such an attack would severely undermine bitcoin user confidence, send prices really low, and undermine incentive for other miners to up their game by buying new equipment etc.
I don't understand how a client update could prevent this problem.  Wouldn't the attacker just upgrade too?  Is there a way to distinguish between attackers and "true" miners?  

I would love a good answer to this as together with scaling issues this is my main concern for bitcoin's survival and success.

The libertarian dream of perfectly functioning ‘free markets’ is a ridiculous fantasy. The only way to ensure peace and happiness is to delegate responsibility to democratically elected politicians with the skills, experience and education to manage complex social and economic issues.

At least they earned it the hard way... by working and saving. Bitcoiners don't just get them through negative interest loans. Nobody should deny someone their wealth that earned it on a level playing field and this really hasn't been possible before Bitcoin.

"Social equality" is hardly socialistic. There is no Fed in Bitcoin, no upper class. Every node is equal and capable of accomplishing the same. Bitcoin gives us social justice, and that's the way it should be.

You did not get his point. All men are created equal; not in aptitude, skills or knowledge but in status as human beings with corporeal bodies.

With Bitcoin there is no way for anyone to either (1) confiscate another's bitcoins against their will or (2) dilute the value of another's bitcoins through special privilege with monetary creation.

In other words, Bitcoin operates like gravity or electricity or any other natural law because it is based on the laws of mathematics as applied in cryptography. The effects are equally applied to all in the blockchain.