“Zero Money”: First Principles Thinking About Monetary Value
Change the Money, Change the World (26)
Addendum 2 — Series of Addendums & Table of addendum content
On the series of addendums on political strategy and tactics
“Regular crises perpetuate the past by reinvigorating cycles which started long ago. In contrast, (capital-C) Crises are the past’s death knell. They function like laboratories in which the future is incubated. They have given us agriculture and the industrial revolution, technology and the labour contract, killer germs and antibiotics. Once they strike, the past ceases to be a reliable predictor of the future and a brave new world is born.” ― Yanis Varoufakis
The Global Minotaur: America, the True Origins of the Financial Crisis and the Future of the World Economy by Yanis Varoufakis 2011
“Change the money, change the world” is a movement that requires political struggle. I am speaking of a particular revolutionary process in allegiance to a vision of a new global economy. The moral degradation of cycles of a debt and credit economy run on a false monetary medium has reached a historical moment in the advent of the 2020 decade, one that requires a disruption of the economic paradigm and the birth of a novel antithetical economic system based on sound currency. A 24 part essay opened what is now a blog of commentary on the continuing evolution of this disruption, whose scope is far more ubiquitous than generally recognized.
This present part of the blog is the second of a number of addendums to the completed essay that focused more narrowly on monetary value and the governance of individuals that comes into play in the selection of a monetary medium, and maintaining its value. It was argued that when that responsibility is exercised for the benefit of a few at the expense of the many it is simply immoral. Also was provided a comprehensive overview of the array of digital currency coming into play in the monetary paradigm transition. That was an overview supporting the most antithetical digital currency to the legacy economic system, providing the standard for all others, the standard set by Bitcoin.
The addendums being added are an expansion of the final two parts of the essay (posts 21–22) on pan-national activism, beginning with the introductory addendum on the ontological underpinnings of my thesis, and some discussion of my background. If the standards characteristic of Bitcoin are to evolve the new world reserve currency, and as such functioning within a decentralized economic power structure, it will in the process become a threat to those who enjoy and want to maintain economic hegemony on behalf of nation states with corrupt institutions in the form of central banks working in concert with political parties. The current power structure is nationalistic, increasingly socialistic for that power structure, and maintaining that power by increasingly authoritarian means combined with fostering populist support.
Resistance to and transformation of the existing economic paradigm while holding allegiance to gaining adoption of a sound true monetary medium will need political activism against the hegemony of the most powerful nation states comprising immoral monetary governance by an international cabal of political parties and central banks. This global centralization of political powers employing fiat currency manipulation, and thereby human oppression, will very surely need resistance by global pan-national political protest and activism. At the same time this needs to come gradually then suddenly through building bridges away from the walled cities of fiat to the open freedom of personal sovereignty over individual wealth. Care will be needed to make sure disruption does not cause undo suffering among impoverished populations.
I have outlined, with some detail in postings 13 to 16 of the essay, four phases of transition to a novel economic paradigm. These phases adhere to the very general political thesis briefly described in the previous paragraph. The series of addendums after the main essay are about issues, concerns, observations, opinions, expectations and other ideas on political strategies and tactics that span, include some or all, or are specific to one or more of the transitional phases proposed. The set of postings 1 to 22 comprise the main essay. The future addendums I am anticipating may still be forthcoming when you are reading this. In fact this post 26 will continue to be updated as new addendum are developed — serving in effect as a table of addendum content. I will mention now also postings 23–24 which provide annotated links being continually updated regarding digital currency adoption and adaptations.
In the next addendum, addendum 3, for discussing pan-national political activism, I want to return to take a closer look at the organization introduced in posts 22–23, the Progressive International and its seminal regional manifestation the Democracy in Europe Movement. This is the main example of a progressive movement actually already incorporating both Yanis Varoufakis’ digital tax token concept and a specific platform on technology and innovation. I adequately covered the tax token concept but the technology platform has a lot to offer as an example of political action within an existing power structure — so more about it is offered.
Earlier in posting 10 debunking Keynesian economics and exposing many of its the flaws, I depended on analysis by some of the thinkers of the Austrian School of Economics, even before the decoupling of the dollar from the gold standard. This analysis and economic theory has also been significant to the political ideas of Libertarian political theory. Such economic and political ideas are arguably not far from the gestalt of the cyberpunk group of computer technology encryption experts, some self-identified as crypt-anarchists, to whom was posted the now famous white paper by the unknown person or persons known as Satoshi Nakamoto.
Table of Addendum Contents
* The set of postings 1 to 22 comprise the main essay
* Postings 21–22 on pan-national activism is expanded on by the series of addendums
* Postings 23–24 are listed hyperlinks with annotation on Bitcoin adoption/adaption, and who to follow
Addendum 1 — Post 25: Introductory addendum on the ontological underpinnings of my thesis, and some discussion of my background
Addendum 2 — Post 26: On the series of addendums following a review of the various components of main essay series postings 1 to 22
Addendum 3 — Post 27 to 31: A review of the technology and innovation platform of the Progressive International Party as proposed by the regionally developed sector the Democracy in Europe Movement (to be posted)
* Future Addendum descriptions to be continued (TBC)
A brainstorm for future addendum topics — items and groupings (TBC)
Bitcoin politics reviews of expositions related to Austrian economics and Libertarian political ideas
cycles as natural first principle — including human social/political cycles of change — change generated by crisis often with outbreak of war — completing cycles of demographic shifts leading to social crises — focus on change having a financial components — especially 1929 New Deal SS welfare state, 2008 hyper-charged debt and credit manipulation, 2020 digital currency revolution
decentralizing from nation state to internet networks as location financial institutional functions — example: final monetary exchange clearance on global network blockchains rather than national banks, pan-national political parties, international labor movements, egalitarian trade organization, decentralized global monetary medium, pan-national elimination of fiat printing for engaging in armed conflict, international financial incentives and sanctions for creating and enforcing climate change initiatives
transitional monetary paradigm change in context of conflict between collectivism vs individualism — collectivism as negative potential for fascism grown in populism by politicians & positive potential of digital decentralization of needed government benefits and services by activists — individualism with negative potential of disorganization of needed benefits and services & positive potential to organize sovereign individuals in networked cooperation through algorithmic trustlessness
financial education reform in educational institutions and for education of the general public for understanding and responding to price deflation, job losses, lower wages and building resistance to negative possibilities of collectivism and individualism and support for decentralized collective need satisfaction while maintaining individual sovereignty over personal property and privacy
The growth and need for layering technology such as lightning network to alternative coins, to other financial services and banking services offering transitional advantages buffering the dichotomy of CBDC and Bitcoin — more discussion on these technologies and social change than that introduced in main essay
Gold and digital gold (Bitcoin) having intrinsic value — both quality of trustlessness rather than for active speculative trading — but gold is not in process of adoption — Bitcoin in adoption and outperforming due to network effect — Bitcoin a distributed asset held on network rather than concentrated in vaults — Bitcoin as ultimate scarcity and greater divisibility, portability
Volatility: Bitcoin volatility is a different volatility with hardening and stock to flow via increasing scarcity with halving and difficulty adjustments plus network effect — not like volatility in fiat crises and speculation and lack of protection from black swan events and hyperinflation
Issue of Central Bank Digital Currency CBDC vs Bitcoin: extreme polarity conflict — CBDC potential for helicopter money but extends fiat printing for no productivity and potential of hyper-inflation — CBDC with potential for never actually giving any sovereign monetary control to people, loss of privacy — CBDC possibility can’t be used for other asset allocation not just for Bitcoin but even other layers between CBDC and Bitcoin
On inequality: natural law tendency of diverse abilities and wealth accumulation in population classes generally only leveled by wars, social and political revolutions, plagues and other mass effects on everyone — exception financial collapses absorbed and recovered from more easily by rich, including wealthier nations — moral responsibility to help the poorer often shirked — decentralized wealth distribution preparation needed for black swans rather than bailouts and fiat printing
Change the Money (1) Preamble — Monetary value true by nature
Change the Money (5) Introduction (1) — Zero Money & First Principles
Change the Money (8) Part 1 (A) The technological solution
Change the Money (10) Part 2 (A) The Naming of the Beast
Change the Money (12) Part 3 Ending Inflation and embracing deflation
Change the Money (13) Part 4(A) — Phases of transition 1
Change the Money (17) Part 5(A) — Adoption, adaptation & activism
Change the Money (25)Addendum 1 — Politics: Author & Ontology
