The blockchain and it's timing in history.

[Flatulenters]

Posted it on reddit, might aswell post it here.

In my mind,the invention of the blockchain at this time in history isn't a coincidence. It's a product of a need and means to a way. I think that it has great resemblences to the invention of the bookpress and printing. The bookpress was invented because it was a necessity at that time to easely spread ideas that opposed the dogmatic autoritarian belief system and increased literacy in the progress. This in turn led (or at the very least greatly helped) to enlightment, scientific revolution and reformation. I believe the blockchain and bitcoin is an alternative to the dogmatic autoritarian system that is our current monetary system. And the understanding of the blockchain technology can lead to economic literacy.

It also coincides with the 6th/7th stage in the life cycles of great powers and the shift from greatly devaluated currency back to real money as it is explained here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdSq5H7awi8
 

Why are people so hung on the fact that our current monetary system is to big to fail. Do they believe we're at the pinnacle of social evolution and the political, economical and financial structures can't evolve any further? If you're looking at at all the events that happen in the world today we're slapped in the face with facts that the current status quo is starting to fall apart. The world is rebelling against the domination of the petrodollar, the formation of BRICS,.... The only way the dollar can uphold it's power is ultimatly through military power and as we have seen it's that very same military that siphons the wealth away from the empire that wields it.

The blockchain that can't exist without bitcoin (Andreas 'Anology' Antonopoulos explains this very well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8y_GypCWf4
 
) is a disruptive technology that can help society shapeshift into something more global. It enables global human economic interaction without the nationalistic connotations that are a burden on todays national fiat currencies and lead to devastating economical wrangling between nations. This doesn't mean the ones in power now suddenly won't be anymore but at least the'll have to alter the ways in which they siphon wealth from all of us and in the process we might get a bit of power back.

From another discussion I cherrypicked the following: "You are as much of slave to fiat as the rest of us."

When I realised this a while ago, that was the moment I decided in order to try escape from this, I had to educate myself on how all this monetary shit really works. While educating myself I became flabbergasted by the level of oblivion we the sheeple have in regards to all these matters that rule our life.

To explain what I mean I'll again refer to the video series shown previously.( they did quite a good job to make it understandable) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0
 

Do you also recognise how bitcoin creates an oppertunity to babystep out of this system and how it is invented out of an actual need?

Another thing I often hear is the fact that many hold on to their bitcoins and don't use them as a "currency" should be used. That is the whole situation backwards! It shows how brainwashed we are into our current system that we think it's a bad thing to be able to save a token that represents our labour instead of having to "invest" this token in order for it to remain of the same value. Or the simple fact that it encourages you to directly spend and live in the now instead of thinking about (and by doing so, questioning) the future. The more knowledgable I become about all of this the more I urge my mother, sisters, friends,.. to educate themselves and the more I'm convinced that dismissing Bitcoin is a mistake of a lifetime. Not recognizing the potential bitcoin holds, is mostly due to the fact that that we all have a tendency to dismiss change and hold on unto false and dogmatic premises. This could also explain why bitcoiners are often regarded and ridiculed to as a cult, one uses existing dominant templates as reference fields to compare new and unknown things.

The truth is, I wasn't interested in these kind of subjects like an illiterate isn't interested in getting information out of a book. The fact that I am now questioning and learning all of this leads me to believe that many more are becoming aware of this. After all, I'm not a special snowflake!

This gets me back to the beginning of this post so the circlejerk is completed.

[Possum577]

Hey, I've heard a lot about how the blockchain tech can change business and government but I've not yet read or heard a lot about the specifics.

It seems like the open record of the transactions and the community verification of the transactions could be the most useful element. It changes the process for financial transaction accounting, which may eliminate the ability to conduct corporate fraud (like Enron).

What other specific attributes do you see that make this technology the spark for revolution?

As for your last comment about people telling you to spend rather than save...they have a point. In any economy if no one spends money the economy can't grow (e.g., If we don't buy things, businesses don't make revenue, employees can't get paid, etc) and the economy will collapse.

We are all "slaves" to the government controlled currencies, and we may argue about to what degree, but that's only because the only independent currency in existence (bitcoin) is not yet mature enough to stand on its own...it's getting there though.

[coinableS]

I believe the blockchain technology is ahead of it's time which is why we have such a tough time implementing the "perfect bitcoin killer app". However regarding it's timing 2009, right along with too big to fail and the global economy was no coincidence.

[Flatulenters]

Hey, I never stated that bitcoin would spark a revolution. Revolution is a result of the existing social structures failing, and this failure is correlated with the financial health of that society.
My point is that bitcoin is a viable(better) alternative to the autoritarian, untransparant monetary system. An alternative that might lead to a beter awareness of the abuse and misuse of financial power that currently is in the hands of centralised entities that do with it as they please.

I believe that the public awareness combined with this new technology could lead to a modernisation of our monetary system just like enlightment led to the evolution of our ideas about religion, art, science, filosofy and politics.
The monetary system is one aspect of society that didn't had an evolution during this big wave of modernisation because the basic conditions, namely the need of a trusted 3'd party did not change. The ideology that controls monetary system has seen different applications but the essence of how it works stayed the same.

This is what the blockchain is capable off. For the first time in 5000 years, we can have a monetary system that doesn't need and does'nt rise and fall with a central authority behind it. This is the first time we can have enlightment of money. Society and how the  monetary power is distributed to ensure we have a form of continuity can be fundamentally different for the first time.

You can entice people to spend their hard earned "value" other than hitting them with the stick that is called inflation.  Use a carrot instead! You'll just have to make it a better deal for people to spend it rather than save it all. Peoples needs don't go away after all.

Btw, it's part of the illusion that the same value keeps getting pumped around right now. The truth is, it syphones out of the system you and I use and enters a private system that is the sole playground of the big entities that control the whole thing. Meaning, we spend and only they save.

[Possum577]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying, not everything.

First, what's the "since 5000 years" comment? What was the system before 5000 years ago? And the US has been off the gold standard for less than 50 years, which represents the time that the US Dollar was truly controlled by a private entity (rather than being valued against a global commodity).

Second, don't act like you can't "siphon off value" from current fiat systems for your own private wealth creation. Saving money is what you're describing and it seems you're pissed that the wealthy and corporations have the ability to control more money than you. Guess why they can do that, because 1) their families have saved money, therefore grown their wealth, and/or 2) they've found ways to earn money faster than everyone else. Both options are BEAUTIFUL human creations and within anyone's grasp based on the decisions they make and how they spend their time.

Your bitching about the system is worthless if you're not willing to beat the system (by playing within it or finding a better way). Now, I believe you're probably doing that, but I just wanted to make the point.

Save more than you spend. Let your earnings enter your own "private system" where you invest your money into smart operations to allow it to grow and compound. Stay away from debt as much as possible, the debt cycle is the enemy and excluding the need for higher education going into debt is largely a function of our own want to have luxuries now rather than save for them. No one needs a smart phone. No one needs to own a personal computer (go to the library). I think too many of us blame a system for taking advantage of our own dumb decisions. Don't make dumb decisions and you won't open yourselve to be paying the enemies you see in the economy.