This is the latest Bitcoin report by BrotherJohnF and he breaks apart Bill Still’s recent statist critique of Bitcoin (starting at 5:25). I like Bill Still in that he has certainly been a major player in popularizing the whole issue of debt money. But Bill just is blind to the inherent violence in the concept of government. In Plato’s Republic, Bill Still would have been the tyrant Plato promoting government led by a philosopher king…or perhaps Socrates, the advocate of democracy who was voted to be put to death. Government is inherently violent and thus to support government is to support force against non-aggressors. This video shows the split between the old government paradigm and the new, “we don’t need government we have technology and voluntary interaction” paradigm. And that new paradigm is very well represented by Bitcoin. Perhaps there is a level of wishful thinking in my view, but I see that the government is a dinosaur that is starting to go extinct. People need to stop thinking that they need to appeal to government to change things. For example, the whole end the Fed movement has been the wrong approach for monetary reform, Bitcoin and crypto currencies in general are the right approach. Bitcoin says, screw the tyrannical, violent dinosaurs, we are going to implement the change ourselves peacefully and transfer the wealth and influence from the dinosaurs to those in tune with the new paradigm. Granted, there’s no guarantee Bitcoin won’t end up the Myspace or Friendster of crypto currenciences, but the fact is the cyrpto currency idea is loose now and any attempt to stop it will just be met by another adaptation. The more government resists its own demise, the more violent things could get, but all that will do is lead to the death (perhaps not just figuratively) of the remaining clingers to the state. The future is free market and intolerant of all forms of the initiation of force…especially the monopoly on the initiation of force known as government. This video gives a good comparison of the thinking of those in the new versus the old paradigm. I don’t know how long it could take to abandon the whole archaic concept of government, but the trend is starting. And incidentally, if you want a simple book to get into the thinking of the future this is it.
I made a few minor changes to the book for 2010. The main thing I changed was the section titled “Fractional Reserve Lending” on page 64. What I put in that section originally, I put in for the sake of simplicity because I didn’t want to have to get into the subject of capital requirements (especially since those kinds of details are subject to change). However, I broke down and chopped that section up and now talk about the total capital requirement of 8% of total risk-weighted assets (loans) imposed by the the Bank for International Settlements (the central bank of central banks). Since modern banks don’t really loan out deposit money, the 8% capital requirement is the primary limit on bank money creation. The only other notable change is on page 111. I now talk about how infrastructure dollars could first be implemented by states. All states would have to do is create their own banks (like North Dakota has) and make their own interest-free credit to fund infrastructure. I also updated a few charts, but that is about it.
The book should become a bit more widely available within a few months.
The second edition of Dissolving Dollars is out now. If you own the first edition go here and you can download a PDF of the second edition (you’ll need to have the first book handy to complete the download because there is a secret code in the book that you’ll need). The second edition has about 10% new content with numerous tweaks and refinements; it is smaller, but with 50% more pages (142 pages). The idea behind the book has always been to keep it simple by not dabbling in too many unnecessary complexities, and I’ve stuck with that idea for the second edition. I made the second edition’s size and shape like a regular book (as opposed to the more comic book quality of the first edition); it has a regular spine and everything and I even got rid of the all CAPS text. The second edition costs a dollar more than the first due to the extra pages. But I started a thing where if you want multiple copies, you can get them for $9.99 each if you order them from this link; once the books are in your shopping cart, enter this discount code DSC53EL8 (there will be a place for it). Although Amazon offers free shipping for orders over $25, the $9.99 deal is even worth it if you are ordering one copy, because there will only be a $3 or so shipping fee, with the $9.99 deal. And they usually ship fast even with economy shipping, even if when ordering they give a ridiculously long estimate on shipping time. If you want to order a whole bunch of books contact me and I’ll give you an even better deal!
Pop quiz! Where does money come from? Who makes it? What is inflation? What is the Federal Reserve? Why is America so buried in debt? Unsure how to answer such questions? Then you really can’t afford to miss this book. Through the help of the accessible style of a comic book, DISSOLVING DOLLARS will take you on an intriguing, eye-opening journey through American history, banking, and modern money. You’ll discover the scandalous truth about inflation, debt, interest, the Federal Reserve, banks, taxation, bailouts, economic growth, the creation of money, and much more. Whether you are a novice or otherwise, DISSOLVING DOLLARS will fill you in on exactly what you need to know. So get the inside story today. Your dollars depend on it!
Nominated for The Prestigious Stephen T. Colbert Award for The Literary Excellence! .
Second Edition Out February 13, 2009.