I’m fully aware of bitcoin and what it is. I’ve also read saifdeans bitcoin standard I believe right when it came out. I enjoyed it. Especially the bits about the history of money and its nature as a technology.

Unfortunately though, I feel the same way about your perspective. I defended capitalism for decades until I couldn’t anymore. I’ve also considered the argument that our current environment isn’t true capitalism. While I understand where it comes from I still see it as an appeal to purity.

If I remember correctly Ammous characterizes rent seeking behaviors as a negative feature of fiat which I agree with. However rent seeking is not exclusive to fiat currencies. Bitcoin is superior to gold in almost every way but gold is still a good money and most bitcoiners know it’s long history. That history includes gold as payment for rent. It’s clear to me that this rent seeking is not only enabled by capitalistic behavior but encouraged. Rent seeking and profit motives at the cost of workers is a feature of capitalism. You may find it ironic that understanding bitcoins proof of work mechanism is one of the main reasons that I now see capitalism for what it is. It inspires the non worker (capitalist) to extort the labor (proof of work) of the worker. It depends on extracting wealth from others.

The period between WW2 and the 70’s saw a shrinking wealth gap brought about by a hybrid economy of capitalism under a high amount of government regulation as well as strong labor unions. Reagan’s administration destroyed both of those driving forces that mitigated the rampant inequality of capitalism and now we see a wealth divide that seems like the gilded age 2.0.

The proliferation of fiat may very well have been the last nail in the coffin but at best capitalism exacerbated it but I suspect it is actually responsible for pushing us in the coffin in the first place. I do not refute that there a few benefits to capitalism, but the same is true for other economic systems like socialism and communism as well. The benefits definitely do not outweigh the costs. I don’t claim to have an answer for a replacement of our current structure but I’m quite certain I will never defend capitalism again.