The steady polarization of society we are currently undergoing may be reversed with a bitcoin standard.
There Are Always Two
Polarity is a staple of our existence: North and south, good and evil, black and white, Jedi and Sith, Marvel and DC. Middle grounds and tertiary options often become consumed by the intense opposing forces at the edge. These gray areas often find their strength in alignment with a polar force rather than standing alone. These forces and the entities that represent them are hard-coded into the way we understand the world. As the sun rises, you know the Joker is trying to drive Batman insane as the Dark Knight seeks to lock him in a padded cell in Arkham. But on rare occasions something happens which is so extraordinary that the standard-issue rivalries become insignificant. One can harken back to somber real-world issues such as the alliance amongst the capitalist U.S.A. and U.K. and communist U.S.S.R. to fight back the Axis imperialist march. The sports world can also experience this with a superstar joining a rival to create a “superteam” that no one ever thought possible. The choice to leave a familiar platform could happen because of a threat or opportunity with immense potential to shake the foundation of our civilization. In our modern world, Bitcoin is growing at a pace too quickly to be ignored. It is actively revolutionizing the way we understand property, money, information exchange, and may even be strong enough to resist some very familiar opposing forces in America.
Left And Right
Politically speaking, there are two predominant sides in America: Democrats and Republicans. Democrats have claimed to be about the following:
“Since 1848, the Democratic National Committee has been the home of the Democratic Party, the oldest continuing party in the United States.
“Today, we are millions of supporters strong, leading with our values, fighting for progress, and helping elect Democrats in every state, city, and ZIP code — from local office to the Oval Office.
“Our party is strong because it’s built on advancing our Democratic platform and forging positive solutions that include everyone. As Democrats, we believe that every person in this nation should be treated with dignity and respect. We believe that healthcare is a right for all and that we should be rewarding the hard work of middle class families. We believe that our schools and streets should be free from gun violence and that a woman’s decisions about her own body are hers to make.
“As the DNC, we are working together to build a bright future for everyone. We are fighting for the soul of our country, for the heart of our democracy, and for America’s place as the land of opportunity for all.” - About the Democratic Party
Republicans say they believe in this:
“Republicans believe in liberty, economic prosperity, preserving American values and traditions, and restoring the American dream for every citizen of this great nation. As a party, we support policies that seek to achieve those goals.
“Our platform is centered on stimulating economic growth for all Americans, protecting constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms, ensuring the integrity of our elections, and maintaining our national security. We are working to preserve America's greatness for our children and grandchildren.
“The Republican Party's legacy -- we were originally founded in 1854 for the purpose of ending slavery -- compels us to patriotically defend America's values. As the left attempts to destroy what makes America great, the Republican Party is standing in the breach to defend our nation and way of life.” - About Our Party | GOP
I am tempted to poke holes in both of their hypocrisy as well as offer my services as a copywriter, but that is not the goal here. My point is to call attention to the historic results of their tenure as joint custodians of this nation, and — due to the U.S. dollar international dominance — the world. The Democrats claim middle-class families should be rewarded for hard work; however due to monetary inflation the median-priced home in 2019 is valued at the average salary of the top 5% in America. Before leaving the gold standard in the early 1960s, the average salary of a college graduate could practically do the same at (salary - $9300, median home - $11,900). The Republicans’ claim to “stimulate economic growth for all Americans” has fared well for at least the richest. From 2010 to 2020 to 2021, the count of American billionaires has risen from 404 to 614 to 724, while education and healthcare costs have doubled in the same amount of time.
These brief points are not to say that generating wealth is bad. Rather, these political parties promise abundance, freedom, and security, but they do not deliver such to the people whom they are marketing to on their websites.
There is a clear focus from both parties on improving the circumstances of the ultra-rich, and they have been increasingly successful over time. While not ideal from a marketing sense for either side, this venn diagram provides more accuracy than either platform’s summary:
Bitcoin As The Platform
Money printing (debt creation) holds all people prisoner to its effects because there is no outlet or relief. Bitcoin, as a perfect combination of hardness and weightlessness, enables its owner the scarcity of a piece of land with the speed of an email. Corrupt monetary policy cannot persist unchecked as it did in the past. Never before has an asset been made so perfectly to overhaul the economic plight that subjugates billions. Such an asset, given proper understanding, also has the potential to attract the interest of many voting blocs into not only an interest group, but perhaps an entirely new political party.
Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advocates made their presence known recently. The August 2021 $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill included language that required cryptocurrency “brokers” to report transactions to the Internal Revenue Service. Brokers could be loosely interpreted as entities that participate in the movement of crypto assets including wallets, software developers, transaction validators, and node operators. This poor language resulted in two bi-partisan amendments drafted in the Senate, the non-profit organizations “Fight for the Future” and “Electronic Frontier Foundation” organizing 40,000+ calls to senators and multiple celebrity figures, and Bitcoin Magazine providing intense advocacy energy toward protecting digital property rights onward. With estimates of bitcoin ownership ranging from 21 million to 46 million people in America, the future impact the network has on the political landscape will be much greater than some calls to senators.
Over the years, bitcoin has been proven to be more than “invisible money.” Its attributes carry philosophies, ideas, and morals. These attributes are resilient because of bitcoin’s decentralized nature. There is no “head of the snake” that can be chopped off and replaced. Generally, Bitcoin is built to advocate for private property, impartiality, industriousness, freedom of communication, and lawfulness. All of these ideas seem to be losing their power in the current political climate and structure. There are some groups of people that would like to see these ideas rejuvenated. WIthout support for the Bitcoin network, this would be no more than a pipedream and continual bait-and-switch by the current parties in power.
Urban Population
People of inner-city populations have been largely loyal to the Democratic Party since President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1933 New Deal. They were promised jobs and were happy when they received them. Fast-forward 85 years later, the inner cities are home to crime against itself, strife, and hopelessness. Almost 100 years later, politicians still speak about employment as the answer to today’s problems. A video game is broken when you are not able to displace your character from his position. A job that does not enable you to grow out of your place in the world is called “dead-end.” Bitcoin counters toxic inflation and can potentially cease it. This enables technology to be the force it is supposed to be, by decreasing the costs to produce everything, subsequently decreasing the cost to live. Inflation is causing the poorest of people to drown in expenses, not the rich. Without this secondary tax, even a person that does not generate much for themselves could increase their ability to meet their needs as prices for goods are driven further down. With some sacrifices and good decisions, one could actually chart a path out of their current economic class. This idea is increasingly more difficult today, with the exception of winning an entertainment or athletic lottery of skill and opportunity. There is not one reason that any person in the inner city should not want a bitcoin standard or vote for someone to usher that into existence. As long as banks and corporations can manipulate politicians, promises to the inner city will continue to be broken.
People with foreign ties absolutely benefit from a party that is established with bitcoin as its primary voting issue. Personal remittances, or money sent for goods, services, and gifts, can get taxed with extreme harshness. Western Union fees are detrimental to small sums, which hinders monetary communication for poorer and unbanked individuals. A party focused on bitcoin adoption would ensure the ability for all to benefit from the same technologies as the ultra-wealthy and corporations. Additionally, bitcoin removes the political risk of open remittances. Grandma in “the old country” receiving a few hundred dollars from you every month should have nothing to do with whether America invokes economic sanctions, or if a corporation decides to profit from your relationship. Bitcoin’s impartiality is most visible here. Bitcoin protects these rights. Politicians who protect these rights should be voted into office.
Evangelicals
Bible-believing Christians have become synonymous with the Republican Party since the early 1980s. The party has been historically willing to champion Christian issues such as definition of marriage, laws that support the preservation of unborn children, and protecting the public voicing of biblical views as freedom of speech under the First Amendment. As a loyal interest group, they have provided votes and many victories to the party. In return, there has been a slowly-diminishing importance of Christian values to the party, and they are are often left to fight in court for their rights against the local and state government, when instead those entities should be defending their rights to exist. Some may say bitcoin is Christian money. This statement is not true because it omits other stakeholders. Bitcoin is Christian money because it will not censor Christians. Bitcoin is likewise atheist money because it will not censor atheists, and the list continues. Centralized fiat money like the U.S. dollar is known to censor at the global level, but even more importantly the conduits of fiat cancensor religious freedoms in a centralized digital world.
The Lightning network censorship-resistant social media platforms (Zion, Bluesky) will be the answer for groups that do not have the backing from the controlling powers to communicate freely and fearlessly. Religious groups must be willing to navigate the waters of this new decentralized digital world like Europeans navigated the Atlantic for the same reasons. The Bitcoin network is the most reliable way to ensure your money is not frozen or confiscated by PayPal, Square, or a bank because of your beliefs that might clash with the mainstream tolerance levels. If a standing president was banned by a social media platform owned by someone that believes in Bitcoin’s anti-censorship ethos (Twitter, @jack), how much more would any platform shut down a simple church that was too vocal or too impactful about contested issues? Do not wait for that sad day to reassess devotion to a party which no longer cares for your interests. If the politicians you are voting for want to dismiss bitcoin, are they not also dismissing your 1st Amendment rights?
Environmentalists
Environmentalists have been bamboozled by the institutions guarding the financial status quo to protect the environment against the Bitcoin network’s energy requirements. The uproar against Bitcoin dematerialized in a matter of months since Elon Musk's double-tongued statement in May. He never sold any of his bitcoin, but convinced millions to sell theirs. Bitcoin consumes approximately .1% of all energy produced annually. Meanwhile almost one-third of the total energy generated worldwide is wasted. Environmentalists would also spend their energy more efficiently not fighting against an industry that is comprised of about a 56% sustainable power mix, with that number also continually growing. In our current fiat system, the economy must continually grow in a finite world. Bitcoin will not only have a deflationary effect on prices but the environment as well, as the network seeks to fully leverage the 50K TWh wasted by fiat-driven industries and the increasingly-efficient solar solution through Swanson's Law.
Additionally, because Bitcoin incentivizes individual sovereignism, people will be inclined to take hold of and preserve their own property. The best "green deal" is one that enables property ownership. Consolidating property to few hands only does the opposite. Just look at any neighborhood of primarily homeowners versus renters. It is easy to make a choice that benefits the whole when it benefits the individual.
Environmental-issue voters will continually be used to steal support for the Democrats until the people realize fiat is anti-conservation at its core and a Bitcoin-centric party is the best option to achieve goals for renewable consumption.
Anti-Wall Street And Anti-War
It is a commonly accepted worldview that the U.S. dollar, and fiat in general, maintains its power through the direct or indirect threat of violence. Fiat is manipulated and perpetuated through the finance sector as represented by Wall Street. These groups are never truly considered by either party. Occupy Wall Street 10 years ago resulted in little-to-no marked change. Pleading for corporations to leave politics, socialization of income, more jobs, forgiveness of student det, and foreclosure forgiveness are only forms of handouts that would be paid for through taxation. More taxes and more government does not fix the root problem. It will only result in more of peoples’ value through labor being confiscated. Bitcoiners firmly believe that if you fix the money you fix the problems. A system based on debt will naturally create debt for all participants. Bitcoin’s hard and scarce characteristics must be the first layer of our money system. All other so-called “solutions” in the current system are made in vain.
Similarly, war as a fiat tool cannot be halted though complaints alone. War must be disincentivized. Bitcoin devalues archaic forms of value like oil and gold in the same way that gold devalued sea shells, tools, and other forms of ancient mediums of exchange. Part of bitcoin’s value proposition is its anti-confiscation characteristic. That is not a good incentive for besieging a domain. The thought of going through individual interrogations one by one to force a complicated key out of someone’s mind does not make for good war spoils.
Bitcoin is the pathway to a free market. Many in this age associate that term with our structure today which can only be categorized as “crony capitalism.” Only a few benefit from the existence of central banks. It is cronyism that drives people to socialism and communism. Bitcoin as a true beacon of price discovery and value preservation is a concept and political movement that can be rallied around, and has the baked-in incentives to succeed.
Beware Of Frauds Under The Bitcoin Banner
A major part of the bitcoinization of the world has been altcoins. From Ethereum to Shiba Inu, there are thousands which seek to ride the successes and adoption of Bitcoin. Copycats and clones are an inevitable byproduct of any new leading technology or brand. What is also inevitable are people that infiltrate an institution seeking their own gain. Just because a new “blue check” person should mention “#Bitcoin” on their Twitter profile does not mean they are truly for the advancement of the network. Opportunists are quite aware of how much the Bitcoin network has grown and how much it is paced to grow. Infiltrators will be many for the sake of short-term monetary gain, long-term derailment of the network, and even votes for an election. While bitcoin cannot be fooled, Bitcoiners can be. We must be as critical of politicians that offer promises regarding bitcoin as any common pleb. Investigate their platform. If they support heavy authoritarian Green Deal laws or ally with those that suppress property or individual rights, are they really in support of the growth of the network? While Universal Basic Income may usher us more quickly into hyperbitcoinization, do you really think that is the goal of someone who promotes it? If bitcoin is presented as a tool for an exclusive nationalist or violent agenda, do we support that person knowing bitcoin is domainless, as so many Bitcoiners work to enhance the rights of the marginalized worldwide? As much as Bitcoiners scrutinize one another, so should we cautiously adopt influential newcomers teaching and guiding them, not giving way to the destructive fiat concepts that may accompany them.
Conclusion
In closing, my goal was to provide examples for some voting interests that may have felt marginalized by the ruling parties. This is not to say that all people would not be welcome in a conceptual political party that focuses on bitcoin. If you think fiat policies are the genesis of many issues or that bitcoin solves the problems that you care about, then this idea should be a no-brainer. If your hope lies in a few to lord over the decisions and property of many, then bitcoin and a related political movement is not for you. Maybe one day there is enough power in the decentralized Bitcoin network to provide a significant counter-position to the mainstream media propaganda that continues to incite intra-conflict regarding symptoms rather than problems. We, the public, are encouraged to focus on our differences to alienate one another. Meanwhile the “central planners” on both sides of this great scam continually come together to ensure that the fiat ploy remains intact. As bitcoin frees our thoughts, so shall it enable our ability to act. With such freedom, we could change the bipartisan construct of this country and thus enable true choice and political accountability.
Orange Party, anyone?
This is a guest post by Ulric Pattillo. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC, Inc. or Bitcoin Magazine.
via bitcoinmagazine.com
