In 1999, the Chicago economist Milton Friedman predicted the rise of bitcoin as a currency.
He told an interviewer, “The Internet is going to be one of the major forces for reducing the role of government. The one thing that is missing, but will soon be developed, is a reliable e-cash: a method by which on the Internet you can transfer funds from an A to B without A knowing B or B knowing A. The way in which I can take a $20 and hand it over to you and there is no record of where it came from.”
Protecting Civil Liberties with Bitcoin
Bitcoin LogoThe civil liberty benefits of privacy and anonymity are clear. The less personal information a government has on an individual, the less effectively it can violate his or her rights. Imagine trying to arrest a woman for publishing a cartoon of Muhammad when her name and contact information are unknown. Imagine trying to draft her children to die in a foreign war when there are no school records to data mine. The power of privacy is the most discussed civil liberty advantage of cryptocurrencies.
But there are many others. They include: direct control of personal funds upon which such freedoms as travel depend; the ability to donate anonymously to controversial causes; the immediate transfer of funds to human rights victims; and, opportunity for betterment by those who cannot obtain bank accounts.
In fact, for some users, there is no feasible alternative if they wish to feed their families. Bitcoin Magazine explained, “Numerous immigrants send bitcoins instantly to their relatives overseas, thereby avoiding the 10-15% bank fees and the five day delays of bank wires. These immigrants purchase bitcoins as a commodity to reduce their transaction costs, just as someone might buy a cash register to reduce transaction costs. Actually, for immigrants who are unbanked, there may be no alternative means of transferring their money abroad.”
And, yet, cryptocurrencies are usually viewed as tools of economics rather than in terms of civil liberties or humanitarianism. The focus should expand.
Private currency used to be front and center in freedom politics. 19th century libertarians and many 20th century Austrian economists understood that free market money was as important to liberty as more traditional civil liberties like free speech. Some even considered the currencies to be more important. Benjamin Tucker – editor of Liberty (1881-1908) and the foremost individualist anarchist – believed it was vital to first destroy state monopolies, especially legal tender and monopoly banking.
Theories from the 19th century radicals sound antiquated to modern ears, but their insistence that private currency is essential to liberty should be taken seriously. Austrian economist Murray Rothbard did. He absorbed their radical attitudes while rejecting their economic errors.
More:
https://news.bitcoin.com/bitcoin-bill-rights/
