Nostr is the Church of Bitcoin. And as a bitcoin unbeliever, I'd like to probe the understandings and beliefs of those who are really into bitcoin.

These false dichotomy questions are meant to spur discussion, of course I don't think anyone can simply choose one over the other, but I wonder what people are thinking.

Which of the following is true:

1. If government went away, the people would be free of the oppression of taxes, all interactions would be voluntary, and anarcho-capitalism can finally bring in a utopia.

2. if government went away, the infrastructure would erode (roads, the internet, power distribution, sewage, etc) and people would be living in fear of violent gangs that would have bloody and terrible battles for power.

Which of the following is true:

1. Bitcoin will grow to the point of being the world currency, at which point government won't have any reliable way to collect taxes and government will shrink away.

2. Bitcoin won't get much larger than it already is today because if it gets much bigger governments will shut it down, seeing it as an existential threat.

I could ask more but I think you get the point.

My belief is that small governments are good and necessary things, and governments will not allow themselves to lose revenue in any significant amount, so bitcoin can't grow much larger unless it embraces KYC (which the Church of Bitcoin clearly doesn't). And therefore IMHO there is no bitcoin endgame other than where we currently are. I believe we are living in an abnormal period of laxity.

I"m about to run off and I won't see the replies to this for hours, so don't expect me to participate in the discussion right away.

BTW: I am libertarian, I believe in free markets, I like power in the hands of the people, I hate the fact that governments are necessary, and I love free speech. But also I think I'm pragmatic and realistic.

You're taking this far too seriously. We're putting memes out there that converge with other memes to create more complex memes that eventually tip reality. We make outrageous speculations about price and somehow these materialise... a few years later than we hoped, but slow and steady wins the race. We predict the downfall of current financial order and they seem to oblige us by printing to infinity and misplacing the gold. It's all surreal and also quite fun.

We're also psychos that converted unhealthy amounts of old system money into magic internet money to affirm our beliefs and focus our attention. There's loads of holes in the arguments out there but that's all fine, as long as you stay alive, out of jail, and in possession of your private keys... it'll all work out one day soon enough. The more earnest among us worry about wrench attacks and government going full retard with a 6102. But mostly we just distract ourselves with chants like

- fix the money fix the world

- separate money and state

- stay humble and stack says

- laser eyes till fiat dies

- not your keys not your coins

I've been a maxi for a few years now, we're all fanatical about something, might as well be Bitcoin. If nothing else, it gives me the illusion of control in an otherwise chaotic world, and a framework to improve my life in the meantime.

If price ever did go to zero or I lost the coins, the intangible value I have already obtained more than compensates that loss. Money isn't everything. It creates opportunities for sure. But life is what I am living today.

Hard to explain it any better than that.

🧡

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Discussion

I like that take.

I'm still hopeful that it is a revolution, a paradigm shift. And it would be all to the good if it doesn't cause the powerful state apparatus to start crushing people. I'm just trying to comprehend the likely future scenarios.

GM Anon.

Don't worry about the dip, it's just a psyop intended to unsettle your otherwise unshakable belief. The great thing about bitcoin is that it doesn't care. Everyone looks for causes and correlations but none of it matters. The price goes up until it goes down until it goes up.

Sit back, relax, enjoy the ride... if you wanna buy the dip then go ahead, if not that's also fine.

#GM ☕

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Sounds logical. GM