Bitcoin And The Separation Of Money And State

2021-3-6 18:31

Throughout recorded history, religion and power have been inexorably linked. But Bitcoin now offers a beacon of hope.

The separation of money and state is the most important change to society ever. Why? Let’s rewind the clock and find out.

Church And State

Throughout recorded history, religion and power have been inexorably linked. The collective belief in one or more divine entities is very powerful. It enables humans to form larger groups than other primates.

Dunbar’s number represents how many people with whom one can maintain relationships. Without collective beliefs, human tribes could not have exceeded this number. Thus, civilization needs a belief system at its core. Belief systems provide human leaders with motivational tools. The introduction of ceremonial burial was one such tool. With ceremonial burial came the promise of an afterlife. This tool enabled tribal leaders to start wars with other tribes. Other primates fight each other too, of course, but outright war is a different thing. War has a supposed purpose for the collective.

Despots could now trick their subjects with the promise of a better life after this one. This gave them immense power, since they could now rally armies to further their causes. It enabled them to form nation states. Controlled territories with loyal citizens living in fear of the armed forces. Because of people’s beliefs, the divine right of the ruler became a part of their operating system. For centuries, this was the basis of governance for almost all nations. The rulers' supposed closer connection to the gods legitimized them in the eyes of the people.

Then, the colonization of the Americas introduced a new problem for the ruling class: People from different religious backgrounds needed to band together in the new states.

Enter the ideas of English philosopher John Locke. Locke argued that the realm of individual conscience was a personal thing. Thus, the liberty of conscience had to remain protected from any government authority. Locke’s ideas had a huge influence on America’s founding fathers. Religious tolerance became the norm in the new world. Thomas Jefferson wrote that the government should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

These ideas made their way into the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. You know, the one about protecting freedom of thought and expression. Similar developments were happening throughout Europe. Today, almost all Western democracies call themselves “secular states.” Freedom of thought propelled humanity forward in unprecedented ways. Claiming that the earth revolved around the sun wasn't a crime any more. The dogmatic thinking of the church was no longer a burden on scientific progress. The ideas of the Enlightenment had finally emerged victorious. Humanity had abandoned superstition. The elites could no longer fool people into submission with their lies. Or could they?

Money And State

The institutions of the church and the state were no longer dependent on each other, true. But religious traditions were still dictating how these states operated. The Gregorian calendar remained in use and Sundays remained somewhat sacred. So did Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter. Ceremonial burial is everywhere. An alien would most likely find the practice very odd. But most important of all, the belief in the state itself remained. For what maintains the state if not religious belief? What gives one man the right to govern another? Aren’t these notions mere remnants of an antiquated belief system?

Some of us think they are. Some of us see no difference between the allegiance to God and the justification of a government. The most powerful tool of lulling people into a specific set of beliefs that exists today is money. With the introduction of fiat currencies came a new way of controlling populations. New methods to keep them enslaved. The central bank proved to be a much more powerful entity than the church could ever be. The thought of a better life after this one could make regular people do atrocious things to each other. The thought of a better life here and now could make people do atrocious things to themselves. It enslaved them in perpetuous work, as they all strived to become rich — an impossible goal for most people.

As long as there are money printers, there can be no freedom of expression. Money is the tool we use to express value to each other. Whoever controls the money supply controls the world. The words “In God We Trust,” printed on every dollar bill in existence, gives a clue to how fooled we’ve been. We’re not secular. We still belong to a cult. The emperors are still naked. There’s still no such thing as divine right.

If we want to become secular, we have to separate money and state. There’s no middle ground here. People in charge of issuing currency can't resist enriching themselves. The incentives are too strong. There’s no way around this. Never trust a piece of paper that says "In God We Trust." There's probably no God and definitely no "we."

But, since 2009, we have had Bitcoin. A beacon of hope in an otherwise dark world. A peaceful way of disarming the sociopaths. A way of making violence a lot less effective. If you want your mind to be free, rid yourself of all appeals to authority. Take control of your destiny. Emancipate yourself. Don’t let anyone dictate the course of your life.

Amen.

This is a guest post by Knut Svanholm. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.

Similar to Notcoin - Blum - Airdrops In 2024

origin »

Bitcoin (BTC) на Currencies.ru

$ 70737.96 (+0.55%)
Объем 24H $40.861b
Изменеия 24h: -1.57 %, 7d: 4.63 %
Cегодня L: $70327.39 - H: $72728.32
Капитализация $1398.902b Rank 1
Цена в час новости $ 48822.86 (44.89%)

bitcoin linked inexorably offers hope beacon religion

bitcoin linked → Результатов: 126


Фото:

8 People Arrested in Argentina Linked to Onecoin Ponzi Scam

The Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Argentine city of Córdoba has indicted 12 people in connection with the Onecoin Ponzi scheme. Eight of them have been arrested. Onecoin Scammers Arrested The Public Prosecutor’s Office for Complex Crimes of the Argentine city of Córdoba ordered the arrest of 12 people linked to the Onecoin Ponzi scam […] The post 8 People Arrested in Argentina Linked to Onecoin Ponzi Scam appeared first on Bitcoin News.

2020-12-14 00:30


RSK запустит инструмент для взаимодействия биткоина и Aave

Разработчики платформы RSK анонсировали запуск инструмента, обеспечивающего взаимодействие между биткоином и токеном DeFi-сервиса Aave. Great news for you- @AaveAave will be expanding to #Bitcoin through #RSK! Check out our proposal linked below 👇👇 Updates to follow! https://t.

2020-12-11 20:52


Phishing Attacks On Electrum Wallet Sees Over $16 Million Stolen From Unsuspecting Users

New reports show that over $500,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) has been siphoned from Electrum wallets – about 72 hours after a GitHub user claimed they had lost 1,400 BTC in a similar hack. Some of the funds have been traced to Binance, with the exchange blacklisting up to 70 accounts linked to the transaction […] The post Phishing Attacks On Electrum Wallet Sees Over Million Stolen From Unsuspecting Users first appeared on BitcoinExchangeGuide.

2020-9-3 21:40


Фото:

Japanese Court Orders Seizure of Cryptocurrency Linked to Coincheck Hack of 2018

A court in Tokyo, Japan has ordered the seizure of crypto assets that have been traced back to the Coincheck hack of January 2018, The Japan Times reported Wednesday. More than $530 million worth of the NEM (XEM) cryptocurrency was stolen from the exchange two years ago in what turned out to be the crypto […] The post Japanese Court Orders Seizure of Cryptocurrency Linked to Coincheck Hack of 2018 appeared first on Bitcoin News.

2020-8-20 13:00


Economist: Bitcoin Remains a “Risk On” Asset After Reacting to Payroll Data

Bitcoin saw some slight turbulence over the past few days, with its price rallying as high as $9,300 before facing a rejection that caused it to slide beneath $9,000 for a brief period. This volatility appeared to be directly linked to news regarding US payroll numbers, signaling that the cryptocurrency presently remains highly correlated to […]

2020-7-4 05:00


Фото:

Traders Can Now Make Bets On Bitcoin’s Hashrate With New BTC Hashrate Futures Offering

Crypto derivatives exchange FTX will be issuing futures linked to the hashrate of the world’s leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin (BTC). FTX Now Has A Derivatives Contract Offering Investors Exposure To BTC’s Hashrate Hong Kong-based exchange FTX has unveiled a new product for bitcoin enthusiasts to leverage the coin’s booming network: hashrate futures calculated using the average […]

2020-5-16 20:24


Facebook’s Active-User Network, A Third of Global Population, Sets Libra Apart From Others: Fed

The Governor Lael Brainard, of the US Federal Reserve on Wednesday stated Facebook’s digital currency project Libra faces a “core set of legal and regulatory challenges.” Social media giant’s stablecoin that is linked to fiat money and other sound assets to mitigate fluctuations in the price of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, remains unproven with a vague […]

2019-12-18 21:12


Фото:

Could Ransomware Be Driving Up Bitcoin Prices?

Research is suggesting that the number of ransomware incidents has risen in 2019. The payment method of choice for the majority of this cybercrime is cryptocurrency, predominantly bitcoin. Could BTC price fluctuations be linked to the increase in this online nefarious activity? Bitcoin Price and Ransomware US state departments, public sector facilities schools, hospitals, and businesses are increasingly falling victim to ransomware attacks.

2019-10-21 10:35