Whatever happens,
We have got,
The Maxim Gun,
And they have not!
- The Honourable Belloc Hilaire, British MP, dissident and poet, 1902
He was talking about the power of government, especially imperialist government, over the masses.
Well, its a lot more true today than it was then. Its nice that somewhere, sometimes, you can do what the f--- you like and you don't get censored, caged, beaten, robbed, raped or murdered by agents of the state. But that isn't the reality for most people, most of the time. We aren't that privileged.
Cryptocurrency is the reengineering of a tool of government (fiat money) into its antithesis. That's wonderful. But.
It doesn't stop bullets. It doesn't soothe the sting of rubber hoses. It doesn't open prison doors.
The world needs brave activists and whistleblowers standing in the full glare of publicity, the Julian Assanges and Edward Snowdens. But it also needs anonymous builders, discreet evangelists documentation writers, beta testers, and even critics.