I finished the second version of my book!
## The Praxeology of Privacy
### Economic Logic in Cypherpunk Implementation
Austrian economists theorize but cannot build. Cypherpunks build but lack theory. This book synthesizes both traditions into a unified strategy for making the state irrelevant.
Three axioms. Twenty-one chapters. One conclusion: cheap defense defeats expensive attack. When theft becomes unprofitable, the state withers.
Public Domain. v0.2.0. Published on Nostr.
Thanks a lot to Stephan Kinsella and Eric Voskuil for their tough feedback on the first version, please join them in demolishing the logic of this second edition and help me make the arguments better!
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Table of Contents
Preface
Austrian economists theorize but cannot build. Cypherpunks build but lack theory. This book synthesizes both to make the state irrelevant.
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Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1: The Nature of Privacy
Privacy is selective disclosure, not hiding. Breaking adversary observation through the OODA loop is strategic defense. Cheap privacy defeats expensive surveillance.
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Chapter 2: Two Traditions, One Conclusion
Austrian economics and cypherpunk practice converge independently on privacy's importance. Theory explains why; code demonstrates how. This book synthesizes both traditions.
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Part II: Philosophical Foundations
Chapter 3: The Action Axiom
The Action Axiom proves privacy is structural to human action. Deliberation is internal; preferences are subjective; information asymmetry is inherent.
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Chapter 4: The Argumentation Axiom
Argumentation ethics demonstrates self-ownership through performative contradiction. Denying it while arguing presupposes it. Privacy rights follow directly from self-ownership.
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Chapter 5: The Axiom of Resistance
The Axiom of Resistance assumes systems can resist control. Mathematics, empirical evidence, and similar systems support this well-grounded but non-self-evident assumption.
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Part III: Economic Foundations
Chapter 6: Information, Scarcity, and Property
Information is non-scarce and cannot be property. Privacy is protected through self-ownership, physical property rights, and voluntary contracts, not intellectual property.
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Chapter 7: Exchange Theory and Privacy
Privacy enhances exchange by protecting deliberation and enabling negotiation. Surveillance distorts prices and chills transactions. Better privacy means better functioning markets.
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Chapter 8: Capital Theory and Entrepreneurship
Privacy infrastructure is capital requiring present sacrifice for future capability. Entrepreneurial discovery drives innovation. Markets coordinate heterogeneous privacy tools most effectively.
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Chapter 9: Monetary Theory and Sound Money
Sound money emerges spontaneously from markets, not decrees. Bitcoin implements digital soundness with fixed supply and censorship resistance; privacy requires additional tools.
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Part IV: The Adversary
Chapter 10: Financial Surveillance and State Control
Financial surveillance enables state control through observation. CBDCs complete the architecture. Privacy breaks the OODA loop at observation, making theft unprofitable.
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Chapter 11: Corporate Surveillance and Data Extraction
Corporate surveillance extracts behavioral data for prediction products. State and corporate surveillance are deeply entangled. Markets are responding to growing privacy demand.
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Chapter 12: The Crypto Wars
The Crypto Wars pit states against privacy technology. Mathematics ignores legislation. Developers face prosecution. The fundamental conflict is permanent and intensifying.
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Part V: Technical Implementation
Chapter 13: Cryptographic Foundations
Cryptography provides mathematical privacy foundations: encryption, hashing, and digital signatures enable trustless verification. Implementation bugs and human error remain the weakest links.
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Chapter 14: Anonymous Communication Networks
The internet leaks metadata. VPNs help locally. Tor distributes trust through relays. Mixnets defeat global adversaries. Choose tools matching your threat model.
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Chapter 15: Bitcoin: Resistance Money
Bitcoin solves double-spending without trusted third parties. Sound money enforced by code. Base layer privacy requires additional tools like Lightning and coinjoin.
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Chapter 16: Zero-Knowledge Proofs
Zero-knowledge proofs enable verification without disclosure. SNARKs, STARKs, and Bulletproofs make different tradeoffs. Deployed in Zcash and rollups; broader adoption developing.
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Chapter 17: Decentralized Social Infrastructure
Nostr solves identity capture through cryptographic keys users control. Relays compete, moderation is market-driven, and the protocol extends beyond social posts.
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Part VI: Praxis
Chapter 18: Lessons from History
DigiCash, e-gold, and Silk Road failed through centralization and poor OPSEC. Bitcoin succeeded through decentralization, open source, and properly aligned economic incentives.
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Chapter 19: Operational Security
Operational security prevents adversaries from gathering compromising information. Threat modeling guides defense. Human factors are the weakest link. Perfect OPSEC is impossible.
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Chapter 20: Implementation Strategy
Start with honest assessment. Build progressively from basics to advanced. Find community. Privacy is not a destination but ongoing practice. Progress matters.
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Chapter 21: Building the Parallel Economy
The parallel economy grows through counter-economics. Cheap defense defeats expensive attack. When theft becomes unprofitable, the state withers. Build. Trade. Resist.
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