This is an opinion editorial by Aleks Svetski, author of “The Anti-Communist Manifesto“, founder of The Bitcoin Times and host of the “Wake Up Podcast with Svetski”.
Bitcoin is a combination of many innovations: technological, mathematical i scientist Of course, it includes cryptography, timestamping, hashing, and proof-of-work, the combination of which has given rise to new forms of technology, namely time chain, number-uploading (NGU) technology, and what I think it is perhaps the most important of all: accountability augmentation (RGU) technology..
Responsibility and Freedom
I came to Bitcoin for “the money” and stayed “The money.” The money being the most important invention/discovery/social tool known to the greatest social beast of all, namely man.
I have always been a maximalist of freedom. This stance led me on a great journey in life with more than my fair share of ups and downs. I have won and lost a lot, more times than I can count, in business, finances, relationships, and almost every other area of life. When I look back over the years, one thing that stands out:
The experiences that felt most solid, just and true to me were the ones in which I was at my most free i most responsible for the result. Be it good or bad, and for better or for worse.
I don’t think I appreciated the latter, at least consciously, when I was younger. Circumstances in my life generally positioned me to be very responsible anyway, but if I’m being honest, I spent most of my time focusing on the freedom aspect and as a result gave up on my fair share of responsibility along the way.
The older and more mature I’ve become, the more I’ve come to respect, desire, and ultimately seek responsibility.
Jordan Peterson planted an important seed. I remember listening to short clips of him working out at the gym. One particular period that comes to mind was the year 2020. Some significant events happened that derailed my life, so I was lifting heavy and punishing myself in the gym while listening to this man’s doctrines of accountability , truth and integrity in my mind.
It was a profound and transformative period in my life.
Investing the time and effort to understand Bitcoin, the Austrian economy, history and the male framework (hat tip, Jerr), has also significantly deepened my position on “responsibility”. As the injustice and sheer madness of the clown world has shown.
Here I am now at the end of 2022, newly married, looking to take the most responsible step of my life so far: having children and building a dynasty with my beautiful wife.
As this new chapter unfolds, I’ve found that accountability has taken a front-row seat in terms of importance. Perhaps even more so than freedom. This is something I never thought I would say, but here I am.
Along with this personal transformation, I have realized that Bitcoin itself is even more important than I thought, because it embodies, exudes and personifies. responsibility.
A new meme for 2022 and beyond
If Bitcoin is responsible money, what drives it is RGU technology.
Of course, this is a meme. And we must treat it as such. In this day and age, we meme things into existence. NGU was the perfect example, as were the laser eyes. But now we add a new one to the lexicon.
NGU was great, is great and always will be. Bitcoin NGU works on many levels: relative exchange rate (aka price), block height, node count, hash rate, users and more, although we know most people focus mainly on in the price
This is where things can break down.
If the exchange rate is the main focus, non-NGU price action periods make you look stupid or feel a little empty. Bitcoiners are prepared to endure looking stupid. It’s a price worth paying, of course. Not forgetting that these rites of passage are both cleansing and forging. They exterminate the weak, while sharpening the true believers.
But it is in tuning that we have the opportunity to discover a more moral quest. And here’s my suggestion: getting rich is cool and all, winning is cool. We’ll do it anyway. But we also rediscover what made our civilizations great in the first place:
Responsibility
I have come to believe that it is the most mature and evolved human attribute. With great freedom comes the moral call to great responsibility. This is the challenge posed to all boys who must become men. It is when you transcend the child and enter the adult.
In this sense, Bitcoin is a sign of civilizational maturity. And perhaps on a more macro scale, the tumultuous period we’re in is a sign of humanity in full adolescence. As a species, we are coming to terms with what it means to live in accordance with truth and the natural order. We’re halfway through our rite of passage, and the childish part of us that wants to keep playing pretend is throwing tantrums, kicking, biting, and screaming because it knows time is up.
The age of fiat is ending, and like a hysterical child, he is in a state of panic. But fear not, for this too shall pass. Bitcoin will mature us, because it will not only make freedom great again, it will make responsibility great again.
Responsibility Puja Technology
You will find RGU technology built into every element of Bitcoin. From radical custody and storage methods, to the fact that there is no “helpline” you can call if you’ve lost your keys or sent bitcoins to the wrong address.
The same powerful property rights give you the freedom to do what you want with your wealth, but also leave you with the responsibility to secure your wealth so that it is not taken, lost, or wasted.
Knowing that Bitcoin is a one-way function and that there is no “rewind button” (like there is in the fiat fantasy game) forces you to think twice, no, three times, about what you are doing. This is maturity. This is what it means to be an adult.
When you run a node, you they are Bitcoin. you they are the bank you they are responsible for keeping a copy of the entire ledger.
And it goes further!
Beyond the inherent responsibility of the utility and function found in Bitcoin, there is the effect it has on transforming the user into a more responsible human being. As the owner of your own wealth, you become the steward, the bearer i the guardian That’s power, and we all know what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker:
source
What this does in a social sense is profound.
Bitcoin makes the economic game fair. No one can earn under a money printer or state monopoly. These fancy methods of cheating become powerless.
This cuts to the very heart of the irresponsible and myopic fiat world in which we live. Cheating is irresponsible behavior. When you can play a game and never lose, of course you shirk responsibility!
When you are the nation state or the central bank and you do this, this behavior will spread until the whole civilization is infected with it. People will be exempt from individual responsibility while being responsible for everyone and everything.
This is where we are now. A great mindless mass of serfs, playing a strange game of responsibility, hot potato.
RGU technology means that the consequence is localized. There may be little or no socialization of bad decisions. The onus is on the individual to scale and prosper, in the context of a fair economic game, done through radical ownership of one’s own wealth.
This is the magic of RGU and what actually makes it similar to NGU. It is embedded within what Bitcoin is, and it also manifests itself in the outside world as what it is.
And the proof is in the pudding.
Bitcoin has inspired research in many other areas of life, from the level of ownership and competition (or lack thereof) in domains such as food, framework, family, self-defense, knowledge, energy , housing, health and much more, has fundamentally transformed the people who have come into contact with it.
This amazing side effect of responsible money it’s amazing
What do I mean by “responsible money”?
I mean honest money, real money, money whose ledger is accurate and whose custody demands the bearer’s responsibility.
Bitcoin, like the force of nature that it is, puts the onus on you as an individual to make responsible decisions with your time, energy, and intent, from custody to how you market the product of your labor, in an interconnected society and economy
You adapt to the reality of gravity by not jumping off random cliffs, and if you do, at least (when you intend to preserve yourself) carry a parachute. The same also happens when your intention is to finish your trip. You can jump off a cliff the same way you can burn your keys.
There is no back button. There is no repetition. It’s done.
Bitcoin moves forward like the procession of time. There is no turning back. He does not forgive, nor forget. Mistakes are paid in full and there are no second chances. Bitcoin just is. You adapt to it. The result is a control chart and a ledger of responsibility.
You adapt to the radical freedom of Bitcoin, or you can adapt to the radical slavery of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the like.
A quick note on adaptation: It may be humanity’s greatest strength and weakness. Humans will adapt to freedom by taking on more responsibility, or they will adapt to slavery by giving up security (which is often only the illusion or promise of) security.
The slow and steady abdication of responsibility leads inexorably to the erosion of freedom. But it’s very hard to notice early on because the comfort and safety feel so nice. The movie “Wall-E” comes to mind when I think about this, as does the 2020 phase of the clown world.
This infantilization of individuals is a regression and a de-sophistication of civilization. It is a disease. Responsible money is the cure.
Responsible money is real money. Responsible money is mature money. Responsible money leads to responsible action. Responsible action leads to a more mature, just, real and functional world.
Bitcoin is the ultimate form of responsible money, and RGU technology is the antidote to the fantasy of fiat and the feigned prosperity of politics.
Embrace it, not just because the numbers are increasing. Do it because responsibility, the highest of virtues, goes up to you and the world around you.
This is a guest post by Alex worldauthor of “The Anti-Communist Manifesto,”, founder of The Bitcoin Times and Host of The Wake Up Podcast. The opinions expressed are entirely my own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
