What is crypto-anarchism?
Crypto-anarchism is a growing political-economic ideology with a community that embraces decentralized economies, non-governmental money issuance, and peer-to-peer transactions.
Crypto-anarchism cannot be described as a political or ideological movement. Instead, it encompasses a collection of values and perspectives shared by a broad range of people. They commonly express dissatisfaction with governments' activities, the existing economic system, and the flow of data, capital, goods, and services.
Usman Chohan, an American economist, defines crypto-anarchism as a powerful socio-political-economic ideology that champions the protection of personal privacy, as well as individual political and economic freedom. Enthusiasts of this movement employ cutting-edge cryptographic software to ensure the utmost confidentiality and security when exchanging information across computer networks, as well as conducting private financial transactions.
The term “crypto-anarchism” first appeared in 1988 when Timothy May, a researcher at Intel, published “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto.” This piece of writing outlined his desire to manage his own life through digital technologies and decentralized institutions without the interference of governments or authorities.
The crypto-anarchist technological platform was heavily influenced by the cypherpunk movement in the 1970s and 1980s. This movement counted Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin, among its members. Meanwhile, its economic platform is based on the principles of the Austrian School of Economics and anarcho-capitalism. Both advocate for an unregulated free market without government intervention. According to their philosophy, taxes are a form of monopoly, including state-run ones. They impede fair competition and self-regulation of a free market for goods and services.
Crypto-anarchists aim to:
- Eliminate all forms of censorship or prohibition, especially on the Internet;
- Develop and implement methods of protection against the government and corporate surveillance of individuals, particularly in computer networks;
- Decentralize the economy and money issuance, which would prevent government interference in these processes;
- Create a new economic and social system based on blockchain technology, P2P cryptocurrency transfers, and decentralized finance.
Crypto-anarchism offers an intriguing interpretation of anarchic ideas in its core tenets. Followers of crypto anarchism believe that mathematics (which underlies blockchain and digital technologies) is more important than norms and laws, thus making crypto-anarchism immortal and relevant in any era. To protect individuals' privacy from government surveillance and other intervention, crypto-anarchists propose the development of cryptography (data encryption tools in the network). According to their viewpoint, such an approach can liberate society from government or corporate control.
The absence of censorship is a vital tool in fighting corruption, which has taken root at the various levels of government, political, and power institutions. To this end, crypto anarchists have created uncensored internet platforms and services such as Tor, I2P, and Freenet. These efforts are primarily focused on the darknet, an anonymous network that is free from censorship, and where numerous crypto anarchist forums can be found.
Monopolistic practices and corruption in government institutions
The ideology of crypto-anarchism is gaining momentum day by day, and its followers are steadily increasing. This can be attributed to corrupt governments and state monopolies. Central banks' monopoly over issuing fiat money not backed by assets has resulted in multiple economic crises in the 21st century. The housing market bubble burst in 2008, and its effects were felt worldwide. Currently, most countries are experiencing the impact of another economic crisis and are entering a phase of recession.
After the majority of countries' governments abolished the “gold standard” in the mid-20th century, national currencies lost their backing. Now, they are a monopolistic tool of governments. Their uncontrolled use leads to constant inflation and devaluation rates and an annual decrease in national currencies' purchasing power.
The erosion of the US dollar's purchasing power
Final words
Governments and central banks' attempts to outlaw cryptocurrencies expose their weakness and incapacity to manage economic processes, inflation, and devaluation rates. They rely on outdated monetary instruments of influence that were effective in the past century, but are no longer applicable today.
The introduction of CBDCs will have no real impact. These digital quasi-currencies suffer from the same problems as fiat currencies and cannot solve current economic issues or challenge decentralized cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Monero. They will merely serve as a low-cost and convenient way for governments to generate more digital currency, thereby reducing costs (and enabling further corruption schemes). However, they will not solve fundamental issues.
The pretense of combating corruption, the government's monopoly on money issuance, and the ever-changing rules of market operations will only serve to attract more followers to the global crypto-anarchist movement. With each passing day, the government's inaction and incompetence bring the traditional banking system and fiat-based transactions closer to a catastrophic collapse, as fiat rapidly loses value.
In due time, this will inevitably result in a change in the direction of development for numerous countries, towards reducing state intervention in economic processes and transitioning to decentralized governance. This shift will also have implications for areas like government administration and money issuance.
Adapt or perish, now as ever, is nature's inexorable imperative.
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