LETTER #8: FREE THE MONEY, FREE THE WORLD
Individual sovereignty can only be achieved by separating money from the governments.
Throughout history, we have accepted many things as immovable truths.
For instance, gravity kills anyone who doesn’t adhere to its rules, the sun will rise in the morning, and the uglier one, money has to be controlled by the governments/central parties.
The first two examples are truly immovable truths, but the third one is utterly wrong. Majority of the today’s population was born into an era where governments were obliged to have control over money and they brainwashed almost everyone into believing that the governments must have control over money.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
All the best money(s) we used throughout history - consider gold, for example - were not selected by the governments. They were a product of an organic free market selection of money that can hold its value over time - unlike the dollar that loses its value via inflation with time.
Money controlled by a central party can be debased/devalued by that party anytime, without your permission. “How do they debase it?” you ask.
Let’s understand this with an easy example.
An economy has $100 in circulation and it has 10 cars. What will be the price of each car? You are right, $10/car. Since the supply of dollars is controlled by the governments, they decided to print more of it out of thin air. Let’s assume they printed another $100. Now, the total supply of dollars in the same economy is $200 and it has 10 cars. The per-car price skyrockets to $20.
That’s how inflation occurs. That’s how a currency keeps losing its value as we need more dollars to buy the same good/service and it eventually (and inevitably) goes to zero. The currency becomes worthless and those who store their wealth in that currency lose their entire savings.
We have seen this again and again throughout history.
When the governments have the power to control the money people use, all the other ways of controlling people get unlocked automatically. They use their monopoly over money to freeze the bank accounts of the citizens that disagree with them. They can block every fundraising campaign for a cause that they don’t admire.
We are seeing this play out in real-time in a so-called democracy which is Canada.
If the fact that a single party can block your funds without your permission doesn’t make you feel insecure, I don’t know what will.
Cash provides us a little bit of privacy, but CBDCs (Central Bank Digital Currencies) take that away too. When CBDCs are launched in your country, there will be no cash, every transaction will be digital, and the governments can decide what you spend your money on.
If they don’t want you to buy a particular product, your payment will be denied.
If you criticize the government, you will be unable to use your funds and unfortunately, won’t be able to convert them into cash.
They can and will control how much money you spend on a specific thing.
You don’t need to take my word for it. Look at how things are going on in China.
I digress.
How can we separate money from the state?
Friedrich A. Hayes says the following:
“Something that they can’t stop.”
Bitcoin is the only thing that the government of any country has zero control over. Nobody can take away the coins that are in my custody (unless they torture me). I can send it to anyone, without anyone’s permission, and nobody, I repeat NOBODY, can stop that transaction.
Bitcoin’s supply is fixed at 21M. It can never be changed by anyone. It can’t be debased, unlike today’s currencies. This is what makes it a good store of value.
Bitcoin is digital and decentralized, which means that you can send it to a person on the opposite end of the Earth almost instantaneously without any third-party like banks.
Bitcoin enables the separation of money and state.
Just like the separation of church and state in the 15th century led to the peaceful coexistence among different religions, the separation of money and state will enable peaceful cooperation and justice in an economy.
Bitcoin is hope for a better future where every individual is free to use their money the way they like. Period.
FINAL THOUGHT….
I must restart exercising daily.