Could someone help me understand how bitcoin, something that cuts out the central bank and puts money into a collectively owned network isn't communist af? What exactly is being pointed to when comparing bitcoin to communism? surely not authoritarian regimes...
Discussion
One thing that could help you is looking at all previous cases of communism and digging into how did those end up working.
Can you point to one that wasn't actually just state sponsored capitalism? Just because something rocks the name doesn't mean they are actually that thing i.e. democratic party of united states. The manifesto is pretty clear about community control and the absence of an oppressive regime.
You asked for help and so I thought that reference may help you. It doesn't look like it did.
Sheesh no need to be standoffish bro. Was just trying to understand your perspective.
Oh, I didn't mean to sound offensive. Sorry for that.
I think if your definition of communism is that
- everyone is free to join or leave anytime they want
- everyone is free to use "it" however they want
- people that provide value (e.g. mining) get rewarded with proportional buying power and can spend it on whatever they want
- it can't be subverted/changed by a single "leader"/committee
- it doesn't split people into two classes of "good" and "bad"
Then yes, according to this definition Bitcoin would be communist. I spent couple years living under communism and I would definitely NOT use this definition.
But it wasn't the right communism, next one will be🎉
It gives people private property
We won't own each other's Bitcoin, hence private property. The network will not be collectively owned, decentralization ensures that. And noone could tell you how much you're allowed to spend and for what. Communism takes this all away.