OpEd: The Morality of Decentralized Systems

The metaphysics of money are curious to consider. You have been told that money is the root of all evil. Well – it’s also the root of human specialization – so if money is evil so is specialization. We don’t take that view. That said – bad money may be helping bad people to do terrible things.

There are two aspects to money that matter for this idea – specialization and social power. Decentralized currencies support the former, and may limit the latter. In short, decentralized money with no central issuing authority ushers in a new way forward for humanity.

A new path for social development may be a great thing for humanity. But without a map, and a way of understanding why a new direction is needed, we may miss the nature of modern evolution.

Gold and the God Whatnot

A single L separates gold from god. Both seem to be archaic ideas today. Despite the fact that billions of people believe in some form of god – the modern Western mind sees what Jung called the Imago Dei as silly superstition.

If you have the time – read this work about the Imago Dei – time well spent.

But you are likely here because you like cryptos. So here is where gold and god meet the blockchain. It all has to do with social cohesion. Gold, like god, once brought human society together at a mass scale. Simple symbols like the cross built entire societies.

For gold – there was no question for most of our history that it was money (it had value). What gold did for the physical – god did for the spirit. Today, none of this is true. We live in a maelstrom of discord. Even more disconcerting, people think the way we live is natural. It isn’t.

For the first time since central banks replaced metals with paper – people around the world are once again agreeing that an asset has value. One could say it is Bitcoin, but it is bigger than BTC.

Whether they know it or not, millions of people around the world are saying they want a decentralized future – and that digital assets can compete with the terribly flawed centralized system that dominates human society today.

All of the Marx, None of the Markets

Karl Marx is misunderstood. His views are essentially worthless today – unless one wants to amass social power via totalitarianism. But his views had value at the time they were written. His work was a long-winded protest against unchecked capitalism (and a whole bunch of BS).

Back in those days, massive factories were being operated by 8 year olds (with the machines built to be operated by kids). Whatever damage Marx did – it isn’t difficult to see why so many had problems with mid-19th century capitalism.

Here is the problem – totalitarian thought hates markets. Markets create value, and give people the ability to organize without the help of the government.

It’s easy to demonstrate how powerful markets are. Mao Zedong didn’t create affluence for China. Deng Xiaoping did. The difference was a market economy. Xiaoping was a revolutionary communist who betrayed Marx – and adopted capitalism.

Today, we see the results of the shift away from “Maoism”. China may be the world’s largest economy. It is easily the largest producer of consumer goods globally. So sorry Karl – markets work.

Now comes the fun part – the ethics.

Self Loathing Madness

The reason markets are preferable to totalitarian control is human empowerment. Markets allow people to organize in ways of their choosing – with the government making sure no one starts building factories that use 8 year olds as the labor force.

We have forgotten and ignored so much of the human condition.

The Kena Upanishad delivers this message:

It is Known to him to whom it is Unknown; he knows it not to whom it is known. (It is) Unknown to those who know, and Known to those who do not know.

The idea expressed is foreign to the modern mind – because it expresses humility. It expresses the limits to knowledge. Humility is both true and moral. It limits our view of how much we can understand.

A person who lives in a narcissistic personality cycle hates themselves. In a sense, the modern mind has become narcissistic – and is creating hatred on a global scale. With the social power held in collectivized governance systems – the potential for horror is awe inspiring.

Decentralized systems are the cure – or at the very least – allow people options to organize outside of the current system.

Growth Amid Turmoil

Crypto ETFs are making a big impact on financial markets. The funds are still small, but there is growing investor interest in a radical new asset class. Now, we wonder if they will serve a dual role in global financial markets.

BTC can never be compromised to a point where it will be useless as a means of decentralized settlement. However, the major cryptos no longer have any kind of exclusivity in terms of decentralized payments.

Almost any token can be used for payments, as long as the blockchain is cheap enough to use. The power of cryptos isn’t their ability to generate wealth from speculation – this is a byproduct of the fiat currency system.

The real power of cryptos is decentralized decision making, and the economic systems it could engender.

Ethics Count

Sadly – better money isn’t a panacea for the world’s problems.

At best, we have the ability to self organize in ways that were never possible in human history. Gold and god were a starting point, and now we have to see the problems that the desire to follow centralized authorities creates.

Cryptos are a better tool for human development than fiat currency – but they are not perfect. We still need to understand what we do with our time and the value we create. If we use them correctly – cryptos will act as a limit on power.

It doesn’t have to take the form of a religion, but to progress as a human race on a single planet, we must share morals.