Money Is Political, Not Technical

[Anies_Sandi]

Of course money is just political!
Money is just a tool to measure the reciprocal relationship of power: actually money is a kind of potential that I have: more money, more potential.
And of course, if I had enormous quantity of money, I had a correspondent level of power.
And politics it's nothing more that power management.

the money is only an intermediary in the sale and purchase, if I think it is yes.
the problem is here we are in search of bitcoin and exchanged into real money that is directly used as a tool to purchase goods. we just hold the money. so the money is useless as a medium of exchange and we can not keep as long as possible and as we please

[BobK71]

Of course money is just political!
Money is just a tool to measure the reciprocal relationship of power: actually money is a kind of potential that I have: more money, more potential.
And of course, if I had enormous quantity of money, I had a correspondent level of power.
And politics it's nothing more that power management.

I think you may be confusing 2 kinds of money.  The money I have in my pocket and bank account, vs. money as a system.  I've been talking about the 2nd.  The money I have is directly correspondent with my power, yes.  But the money system *should* be neutral -- ie it shouldn't inherently favor one group vs. another.  It should be just a tracking system for property -- with the understanding, of course, that the  more property you have, the better off you are.  Tracking systems shouldn't be partial or corrupted, but as we have seen, it is profoundly so.

When you wrote 'of course money is political,' it immediately brought up another interesting angle to my mind (even if it may not be what you intended...)

For many, if not most, human beings, it may be obvious that the money system is designed by the elites to benefit the elites.  What these people don't understand is that this is not (or not quite yet) the mainstream notion in the West.  To Western mainstream opinion, money is both the unobstrusive plumbing that makes the economy work, and a tool for benevolent central bank policy making.  It's for this group that I try to bring out the truth.

And there's good reason why so many intelligent and educated people can be seemingly so naive.  The global financial and political elites have been cultivating the idea that Western institutions are superior, that they are rules-based and transparent, that they are not inherently political.  Why?  Because the  world will then trust, or be forced to trust, the money and debt issued by Western elites, so they can continue to receive 'free' power and wealth.  A quick look at human nature will show that government issued money can't possibly be non-political.  This cultural brainwashing is especially severe in the US, the center of what is really an imperial system, and in India, the future such center.

[buwaytress]

And it's important that people are continually reminded about this. Bitcoin was extremely ideological and governments and the traditional financial system at least can be credited for recognising it as a political threat.

Yes, the underlying blockchain infrastructure is a brilliant piece of technology - but it was simply the means to deploying the idea.

The latter may be gaining more recognition than the former, though arguably, the majority of Bitcoin users can't see past the market to appreciate either.

[SixOfFive]

There are many economists that consider FIAT as a illusion created by govt. They consider GOLD or SILVER as the standard financial instrument.

[NeverSop]

Money is a way that the government wants to use to regulate people's property in a country, money that is closely linked to politics is very accurate. Cryptocurrency has prevented state management of the assets of an individual or organization from using and investing in crypto. This has led to governments being very upset and forbidding cryptocurrency development. This is the main reason why Cryptocurrency is still being banned in the world.

[rickadone]

And it's important that people are continually reminded about this. Bitcoin was extremely ideological and governments and the traditional financial system at least can be credited for recognising it as a political threat.

Yes, the underlying blockchain infrastructure is a brilliant piece of technology - but it was simply the means to deploying the idea.

The latter may be gaining more recognition than the former, though arguably, the majority of Bitcoin users can't see past the market to appreciate either.

Maybe bitcoin is the first technical based money still it can be serving the purpose of what other political money can do. I mean to say unlike how traditional money is being printed, bitcoin is here with some reason and it is being mined and reward to who deserves it. The idea and technology behind bitcoin will be ensuring it can be a replacement for any traditional momentary system.

There are many economists that consider FIAT as a illusion created by govt. They consider GOLD or SILVER as the standard financial instrument.

They are all must be right. Because, for the easiness of transacting governments discovered fiats which is actually do not have any value before governments printing them. Bitcoin could be a replacement for gold and silver because we need a monetary system which also supports electronic money movements.

[BobK71]

Fiat has policies which promote store of value which, I believe, crypto currencies could learn from. There are safeguards in place to automatically shut down stock market trading if markets fall too much(something bitcoin might benefit from). Capital gains taxes promote HODL and long term holding strategies in equities markets by rewarding HODL trading over short term daytrading.

I'm not sure if you live in the US, where the tax rules are pretty much what you describe above.  The federal tax authority (IRS) treats cryptos as 'property' for tax purposes, so you pay normal capital gains taxes, which are lower for coins held for one year or longer.

In the West, I think circuit breakers still carry the stigma of elite control and dysfunctional markets.  Even though everybody eventually uses them, the Western authorities still try to appear they have a lighter touch than others.  (The Western media were laughing at the Shanghai stock market recently for its way of using circuit breakers.)

The same applies to cryptos -- although I tend to think, since we're stepping into a new monetary era of adjustable de facto gold-silver-crypto standards, all markets for non-state monetary assets are heavily manipulated by the elites anyway.  So circuit breakers would just mean a slightly different approach to price control.

[BobK71]

Really, you don't talk about politics without talking of money. Sadly so, you debate how much  needed to be able to reach out in different levels of the electionary process as a candidate including organizing delegates to campaigns .

This money politics cuts across all countries from Europe to Asia, from Africa to America to all continent. This is why the masses are suffering because the elected candidate can't be sincere , they would also want to recoup their 'investment '.

The solution is to demonitize elective positions.

Money in politics is symptom of the real problem.  In the West, voters are just too busy/obsessed/unaware/short-sighted to keep politicians honest.  Having money to run ads is thus important to a politician.  This is basically due to the voters' status as 'beneficiaries' of the world money system, where money is created out of thin air and a good part of it goes to them to keep them 'happy.'  They don't really have to grow much personally to enjoy a good life.  Outside the rich world, we don't even have democracy, so naturally money rules all policies.

The solution is to remove the power of governments to manipulate money.

[Tizianodg]

Excellent article, I do not usually talk about these things regularly but this time I will give my opinion ... Corruption in politics and representational crises are global and do not occur only in the great countries power of the world. This is because in societies and at a time without great values ​​and ideological anchors it has been easy for money to become the great fetish and it is he, and not politics, that appears as a symbol of identity and prestige. This generates a true commodification of life and certainly of politics itself.

[yosemit]

Money is a mean of exchange. Hence, the national currency rate are the issue of politics and manipulation of peoples mind, plus it is a tool to control one's government citizens.

[dunfida]

Really, you don't talk about politics without talking of money. Sadly so, you debate how much  needed to be able to reach out in different levels of the electionary process as a candidate including organizing delegates to campaigns .

This money politics cuts across all countries from Europe to Asia, from Africa to America to all continent. This is why the masses are suffering because the elected candidate can't be sincere , they would also want to recoup their 'investment '.

The solution is to demonitize elective positions.

Money in politics is symptom of the real problem.  In the West, voters are just too busy/obsessed/unaware/short-sighted to keep politicians honest.  Having money to run ads is thus important to a politician.  This is basically due to the voters' status as 'beneficiaries' of the world money system, where money is created out of thin air and a good part of it goes to them to keep them 'happy.'  They don't really have to grow much personally to enjoy a good life.  Outside the rich world, we don't even have democracy, so naturally money rules all policies.

The solution is to remove the power of governments to manipulate money.

But that kind of solution would really be somehow an impossible thing to be removed unless if a certain country do have federalism type of government then pure manipulation would really be lessen or isnt likely to happen. Money in politics is already a normal thing nowadays it do really have always the involvement and as being part of this sad reality those people who are on position would really take advantage for those people below.

[GabrielLonz]

There is nothing more correct than this, nowadays money has become part of a solution to solve and maintain the commercial, financial, governmental policy and even of daily life. It stopped being part of a world where it was only a material used for survival, to become a product that can give peace or war.

[BobK71]

Excellent article, I do not usually talk about these things regularly but this time I will give my opinion ... Corruption in politics and representational crises are global and do not occur only in the great countries power of the world. This is because in societies and at a time without great values ​​and ideological anchors it has been easy for money to become the great fetish and it is he, and not politics, that appears as a symbol of identity and prestige. This generates a true commodification of life and certainly of politics itself.

Thank you.  Totally agreed.

Let us think how this tragedy happened.  (First let's take religion out of the discussion, since people have different ones, and substitute with a 'common value system'.)  What really undermines core values (say, the values of the Enlightenment, or 'don't steal,' or 'don't lie'?)  Not that people don't intellectually believe them, but the erosion comes when they see others profit by breaking them.  Because they naturally think the only way within their power to balance out the unfairness is to loosen their own standards.

One major way moral breakdown happens is how, as a society, economic growth is pursued ahead of all else.  Growth is close to gospel in the rhetoric of all major political parties.  For centuries, it has been pursued in the West by institutions and individuals, at the expense of all kinds of other priorities, like the environment, or personal happiness.  Why?  Really?

Because this money system we have demands that growth happen constantly, or the system will implode and the elites in charge are in trouble.  If we view money as the tickets to seats in a concert, the political and financial elites first issue more tickets than there are seats in the room (because they benefit immediately from the sale.)  Now, later on, they 'find' that they must build more seats before everyone realizes the problem and a riot happens.

So, led by the top elites, the entire society engages in a no-holds-barred chase for economic growth.  The result is that, even when this is successful, we are richer but less happy, and our values have been set aside.

[kiloiko]

Money is a mean of exchange. Hence, the national currency rate are the issue of politics and manipulation of peoples mind, plus it is a tool to control one's government citizens.

Every country has got its own currency which the people living in that country use that money in order to buy different sort of things as well as to meet all their daily needs and wants. You can term this money as both technical thing as well as political thing as the ruling government has a key role in making the currency more worthy or less worthy. However, the government always tries its best to increase the market value of their currency.

[PalmerLaura]

That's the main problem that governments see in cryptocurrences: they still don't know how to make it political. Crypto is technology made by common people for common people to make their lives easier and more comfortable but it doesn't work as the instrument of power competition or political control.

[Mpamaegbu]

Money is political and that supposes why fiat of every nation has the backing of their respective governments. Anything that has a store of value could be money once it has the government policies around it for that. Since Bitcoin hasn't got that policy backing of the government to become money, it can't despite how a means of exchange the crypto community sees it to be with all its technicalities.

[BobK71]

That's the main problem that governments see in cryptocurrences: they still don't know how to make it political. Crypto is technology made by common people for common people to make their lives easier and more comfortable but it doesn't work as the instrument of power competition or political control.

I would withhold judgment on that.  For example, I would not be surprised if the Fed (maybe in partnership with the Bank of Japan) created Bitcoin in secret and released it to the world as a non-state-sponsored project.

Bitcoin is a perfect way for the US-led Western alliance to regain their power by reflating their debt-ridden economies after they've possibly run out of gold.  You could easily argue the reflation is now under way.  Almost too perfect.

[BobK71]

Money is political and that supposes why fiat of every nation has the backing of their respective governments. Anything that has a store of value could be money once it has the government policies around it for that. Since Bitcoin hasn't got that policy backing of the government to become money, it can't despite how a means of exchange the crypto community sees it to be with all its technicalities.

The advantage of fiat currencies is 'being backed by the government.'

The disadvantage of fiat currencies is also 'being backed by the government.'  Since the top politicians and bankers have the incentives to issue more and more currency to give power and wealth to themselves, the system is inherently unstable.

So there will always be a role for non-state money, such as Bitcoin and gold.

[Notcalculator]

In the end, all currency holds its value because both parties in opposite sides of the transaction believes it has value. Nothing holds it together but the community. As long as the community needs bitcoin it will have value. Power is political and money is fuel to power. I guess that's how things would work until the end of time.

[Dotakels]

Crypto currency does not exist in the physical sense. The author is absolutely right. I think that this is more of a psychological component. People believe in what is not. They work with what they have never seen. Many scammers who sell bitkoin coins in the real world. But do you understand how cool is the image of crypto currency if so many people work with it?