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An obvious form of ignorance is saying "bitcoin has no value", (maybe with the "intrinsic" word thrown in there), despite the manifest fact of a market price, a
by 21 9y ago
An obvious form of ignorance is saying "bitcoin has no value", (maybe with the "intrinsic" word thrown in there), despite the manifest fact of a market price, and of a huge run up. Value is like beauty, in the eye of the beholder, and dismissing bitcoin, or CounterStrike skins, or World of Warcraft assets as valueless is ignorant.
They can't see the simple "repetition becomes truth" driver of bitcoin price, as in the longer the price is not zero, and the longer people talk between themselfs about the bitcoin price, the more real the idea that bitcoin has value becomes. This is how money is born, by a shared belief.
- kasey_junk 9y agoHe specifically says that Bitcoins value derives from perception. He further says that it’s value is largely derived from its “potential for circumvention”. The idea that random dude on the internet can call a Nobel Laureate & one of the most cited economists in history “ignorant” about these issues is hilarious.
- cwkoss 9y agoI think Stiglitz is coming from the position that ALL 'circumvention' is a societal harm. He is working from a position which supports Federal govt first, and individuals second. Confiscating money from child pornographers is a pretty clear moral good. Civil asset forfeiture, the confiscating the cash a poor single-mom is taking to buy the car because "it could be drug money" is a pretty clear moral evil to me. Which one of those happens more often? I'd guess the later is 100-1000x more frequent. Bitcoin is not moral, it offers circumvention to all, for better or worse.
- kasey_junk 9y agoSure but his position isn’t “ignorant”. Quite the contrary he’s one of the worlds experts on it. Disagree all you want. But ignorance isn’t the issue.
- cwkoss 9y agoYeah, 'myopic' or 'out of touch' would probably have been more accurate adjectives.
- colordrops 9y agoWhat are "myopic" and "out of touch" but euphemisms for ignorance.
- chiaro 9y agoIntrinsic value has a seperate definition to market price. A bubble is, after all, characterised by a divergence between the two.