bitcoin changing my ideology from socialism to libertarianism! What about you?

[ensurance982]

yeah ever since I got involved with bitcoins... my ideology is slowly changing from

being  pro socialism to pro libertarianism...

I now feel happy and liberated when I think about the pleasures of personal wealth..

are you having such changes?

Please elaborate, why your opinions have changed! I think this is highly interesting. I guess it's more often the other way around that people change from libertarianism to some at least somewhat left stance, because they realize that the world just doesn't work when everyone is just trying to work for his own well being at the cost of others'. Also that this is not what we - as a society - want.

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[cuddaloreappu]

What was it about bitcoin that made you switch to Libertarianism? Bitcoin can still be used in socialistic ways, and as SOAD says you can also be a Libertarian Socialist. I'm interested to know how bitcoin caused this shift in you, though.

watching a lot of videos and reading articles related, and of course i would say 75% bitcoin is responsible, but there were other events in my life which were also responsible..

One more is being with socialistic attitude all my life  just rewarded me nothing, at least with libertarian mentality now i have hope i will be happy when bitcoin goes to moon.

[Bit_Happy]

Congrats on your embrace of libertarianism!
It really is for the greater good. 

[jonald_fyookball]

good for you!

I've been a libertarian my entire adult life , even
when I was a broke college student.

the philosophy is simple.  live and let live.
and if you want something in life,
earn it by producing enough values that
others want in the free market.

most other isms including socialism,
when boiled down to their core,
advocate force backed wealth distribution.

[commandrix]

The thing about libertarianism is that it rewards people who can spot bullshit a mile away and understand that nothing in life is free, not even freedom. I know some Libertarians who have very little patience for Socialists because they see the Soviet Union as basically a failed social experiment that caused a lot of misery and sent the message that licking the boots of Soviet leaders was a more surefire way to advance in their system than simply being good at a particular job. Mediocrity was a chronic problem as a result.

[jbreher]

In USA socialism is very bade word but in Europe is somehow positive because it means social care by the government for the people.

The problem that I have with this European model, is that government cannot give 'social care' to any person before first stealing the resources required from someone else.

[pedrog]

I can see why, and there are many types of socialism, if you study the origins of socialism and libertarianism you will learn they are closely related.

Anyway I don't think we should be absolutists about anything, these type of systems can co-exist, some are better for one thing, others are better for other things.

And the anarchist wet dream really exists, it's called Somalia, there's is no functional government there, people are really free, no taxes, no imposed state health care or education, and the best part, you can go there and you won't be an illegal immigrant because there's nobody to say you are.

The libertarian wet dream may be Somaliland, there's a government there but it's really small...

[Jazkal]

yeah ever since I got involved with bitcoins... my ideology is slowly changing from

being  pro socialism to pro libertarianism...

I now feel happy and liberated when I think about the pleasures of personal wealth..

are you having such changes?

that's good Just don't lose your self with it

[practicaldreamer]

Hey, I'm from the UK - I'd (almost) never heard of libertarianism till I came on this forum.

I can (now) see why the Koch brothers might be big on libertarianism/Ayn Rand - what with their $89 billion fortune being eaten into by The Great Unwashed  .

  But whats in it for you and I ?

[foggyb]

What was it about bitcoin that made you switch to Libertarianism? Bitcoin can still be used in socialistic ways, and as SOAD says you can also be a Libertarian Socialist. I'm interested to know how bitcoin caused this shift in you, though.

Socialist system cannot work without fiat and license to mint money cart blanche.

But that doesn't mean that poor people must suffer with nothing. Private charitable organizations/philanthropists with deep pockets are more prevalent in free market libertarian societies.

IMO government-managed social programs are so untenable and wasteful that they eventually destroy whole societies.

[counter]

Now that I stop and think about it I have changed from "favoring"(for lack of a better term), a more socialism type system  from more libertarian type system.  This hasn't been a recent change for me though and it didn't help instantly at all.  I think I'm still learning and transitioning everyday.  I've never really given much thought how much of a roll Bitcoin has played in the change over the years.

[commandrix]

What was it about bitcoin that made you switch to Libertarianism? Bitcoin can still be used in socialistic ways, and as SOAD says you can also be a Libertarian Socialist. I'm interested to know how bitcoin caused this shift in you, though.

Socialist system cannot work without fiat and license to mint money cart blanche.

But that doesn't mean that poor people must suffer with nothing. Private charitable organizations/philanthropists with deep pockets are more prevalent in free market libertarian societies.

IMO government-managed social programs are so untenable and wasteful that they eventually destroy whole societies.

Good point. I've talked to at least one veteran who is fighting the VA over actually getting health care. The VA is one of several government agencies that started out with good intentions and went haywire once the bureaucracy started getting involved. If the US government can't run a system that should be fairly simple and straightforward and take care of our veterans, there's no way I'm going to trust the government to take care of me if/when I might need it. If I have some money to spare and want to give to the good cause of the week, I'll usually check Charity Navigator for a good charity that actually helps people because I'd rather get the tax write-off than see my tax dollars go to pay the salary of a government bureaucrat whose only reason for existence is to hold up the works.

[arklan]

yea, bitcoin has had a big effect on my political views. i was raised in a republican mormon home, but as an adult quicly realized the whole system was jacked up... being here and reading various links and such over the last three years has really opened my eyes even more. i went from not caring to actively trying to change things.

course now it's more like "well little people can't really effect change much..." and i feel like i'm sitting on the sidelines watching the world crumble in ultra slow motion.

[commandrix]

yea, bitcoin has had a big effect on my political views. i was raised in a republican mormon home, but as an adult quicly realized the whole system was jacked up... being here and reading various links and such over the last three years has really opened my eyes even more. i went from not caring to actively trying to change things.

course now it's more like "well little people can't really effect change much..." and i feel like i'm sitting on the sidelines watching the world crumble in ultra slow motion.

Me too sometimes. However, have you ever read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? All of the big people are off fighting armies of orcs and facing down a traitor wizard, while two of the Little People sneak into Mordor and bring down the main villain. Besides, I've suggested that independent bloggers have more power than they think they do in this article.

[arklan]

yea, bitcoin has had a big effect on my political views. i was raised in a republican mormon home, but as an adult quicly realized the whole system was jacked up... being here and reading various links and such over the last three years has really opened my eyes even more. i went from not caring to actively trying to change things.

course now it's more like "well little people can't really effect change much..." and i feel like i'm sitting on the sidelines watching the world crumble in ultra slow motion.

Me too sometimes. However, have you ever read J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings? All of the big people are off fighting armies of orcs and facing down a traitor wizard, while two of the Little People sneak into Mordor and bring down the main villain. Besides, I've suggested that independent bloggers have more power than they think they do in this article.

considering i have a LOTR tattoo, you make a very good point. in some small way, trying to change things and be apart of something larger is what keeps me here in bitcoinland.

[pedrog]

But that doesn't mean that poor people must suffer with nothing. Private charitable organizations/philanthropists with deep pockets are more prevalent in free market libertarian societies.

IMO government-managed social programs are so untenable and wasteful that they eventually destroy whole societies.

Any data to backup these claims or it's just or opinion?

[shawshankinmate37927]

I think that definition of socialism and libertarianism vary between different parts of the world.
In USA socialism is very bade word but in Europe is somehow positive because it means social care by the government for the people.
So, when someone use such strong words like socialism and libertarianism we should first check from where this person coming in order to understand what socialism and libertarianism mean for him/her.

In the USA a lot of us consider socialism to be "robbing Peter to pay Paul".  Politicians over here like to buy Paul's vote with Peter's money.  They like to force socialism on those that don't want to have anything to do with it.  If people were free to opt in or out of a socialist system the same way people can opt in or out of Bitcoin then some of us wouldn't consider socialism to be so evil.

[Anders]

I want both full individual freedom and a robust social safety net. In the future that will be possible because of the exponential progress of technology. We just need to make sure DARPA or some open source project don't develop a form of Skynet or Matrix machine world, lol. It may sound scary to have politicians, doctors and even lawyers and scientists replaced by artificial intelligence, but as Ray Kurzweil has pointed out, we ourselves will merge with the AI (which to some may sound even scarier yet will actually be a natural and gradual process).

[inBitweTrust]

And the anarchist wet dream really exists, it's called Somalia, there's is no functional government there, people are really free, no taxes, no imposed state health care or education, and the best part, you can go there and you won't be an illegal immigrant because there's nobody to say you are.

The libertarian wet dream may be Somaliland, there's a government there but it's really small...

It isn't fair to compare a country ruled by warlords, ravaged by tyrants and plundered by foreign governments to a modern anarcho-capitalist society. Somalia is in its current state precisely because of current and past governments.

To make this comparison shows a fundamental misunderstanding of anarchist philosophy. Anarchism involves voluntary mutual solidarity and adherence to the non -aggression principle which isn't exactly principles being followed by pirates and gangs in Somalia.

The internet, torrents, Open source movement, linux, and Bitcoin represents a start of our anarchistic ideals in action. Bitcoin has many anarchistic principles at its core level and none of it involves chaos and disorder as many people love to falsely portray anarchism.

[Bit_Happy]

And the anarchist wet dream really exists, it's called Somalia, there's is no functional government there, people are really free, no taxes, no imposed state health care or education, and the best part, you can go there and you won't be an illegal immigrant because there's nobody to say you are.

The libertarian wet dream may be Somaliland, there's a government there but it's really small...

It isn't fair to compare a country ruled by warlords, ravaged by tyrants and plundered by foreign governments to a modern anarcho-capitalist society. Somalia is in its current state precisely because of current and past governments.

To make this comparison shows a fundamental misunderstanding of anarchist philosophy. Anarchism involves voluntary mutual solidarity and adherence to the non -aggression principle which isn't exactly principles being followed by pirates and gangs in Somalia.

The internet, torrents, Open source movement, linux, and Bitcoin represents a start of our anarchistic ideals in action. Bitcoin has many anarchistic principles at its core level and none of it involves chaos and disorder as many people love to falsely portray anarchism.

The word "Anarchism" is tainted by over 100 years of propaganda, but in reality examples like the "Open source movement" are amazing.