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I know the US military won't go away as long as USD is used as the world's currency. Getting off USD is a prerequisite to ending American imperialism, it's not

I know the US military won't go away as long as USD is used as the world's currency. Getting off USD is a prerequisite to ending American imperialism, it's not the only thing that needs to be done by a long shot though.

almost_usual 6y ago
Ending American imperialism is a massive war. It’s possible but it’s not going to happen without millions of casualties.
- solosoyokaze 6y ago
  We can lessen those casualties by working hard to defund the military (which is a multi pronged endeavour). For instance, I have no problem paying taxes for social services. I have a major ethical problem with my tax dollars being used to fund military action. Bitcoin is not the only piece of the crypto puzzle but if I could keep my assets out of the hands of the US government, I would do it for purely ethical reasons.
  - almost_usual 6y ago
    Ok, defund the US military now what? China or Russia has a stronger military and guess who is controlling our interests now. What you’re proposing is that Bitcoin needs a massive shift in thought that overthrows all forms of militarized government. Possible? Maybe but highly unlikely without millions of people dying. The new Bitcoin power would also need its own military to do this. So we’re back at square one or where we are today. That is unless you think Bitcoin is also the answer to world peace which seems even more far fetched.
    - solosoyokaze 6y ago
      I do see the toppling of the US government having a domino effect on other powerful nations. If the systems are in place to end US imperialism, those same systems can be used by citizens of other oppressive regimes.
      - almost_usual 6y ago
        You’re proposing Bitcoin will bring world peace. Sorry, I don’t believe this. Who controls the power grid, the land, the roads, the infrastructure? How is that power enforced? Physical force. No one gives away power without a fight. If Bitcoin is the future people will need to die to make it so.
        solosoyokaze 6y ago
        I said very clearly at the start that Bitcoin alone will not bring peace. It's one piece of the puzzle to get us off our current government. People are going to die either way, I'm just done using my money to pay for bombs to kill people that have nothing to do with me.
        MrMan 6y ago
        I will be very happy if the US lays down its arms- I can employ former soldiers as mercenaries to seize bitcoin wallets and mining complexes.
      - dmitriid 6y ago
        > I do see the toppling of the US government having a domino effect on other powerful nations. I guess you are about 11? May be 15? Before you were born a great power was toppled, called The Soviet Union. It happened over three years, 1989-1991. We can all see the domino effect, for sure.
jcranmer 6y ago
Why do you think it is a prerequisite? Imperialism can certainly exist without having the reserve currency--consider the world situation on the outbreak of WWI, which was the height of imperialism and yet no country had a reserve currency (everyone being on the gold standard).
- solosoyokaze 6y ago
  Taxes on USD are used to fund the military. I see long term value storage in Bitcoin with operational and privacy focused "cash" like crypto being pegged to BTC as a way to choke the input funds to the US military.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - lottin 6y ago
    Why do you think it makes a difference whether Americans pay taxes in USD, JPY or wheat?
    - solosoyokaze 6y ago
      I'm saying it's much harder for the US government to collect taxes from crypto. It's much easier to work with a bank to directly pilfer your account than for them to force people to hand over their private keys. The latter doesn't scale nearly as well as the former.
      - hannasanarion 6y ago
        So you're saying that the only benefit of bitcoin is that is is useful for committing crimes. Gotcha.
      - lottin 6y ago
        Sure, and it's even harder to collect taxes from cash transactions. The thing is that with or without Bitcoin you still need financial institutions, so I'm not sure your tax evasion plan is as brilliant as you think it is.

almost_usual 6y ago

Ending American imperialism is a massive war. It’s possible but it’s not going to happen without millions of casualties.

solosoyokaze 6y ago
We can lessen those casualties by working hard to defund the military (which is a multi pronged endeavour). For instance, I have no problem paying taxes for social services. I have a major ethical problem with my tax dollars being used to fund military action. Bitcoin is not the only piece of the crypto puzzle but if I could keep my assets out of the hands of the US government, I would do it for purely ethical reasons.
- almost_usual 6y ago
  Ok, defund the US military now what? China or Russia has a stronger military and guess who is controlling our interests now. What you’re proposing is that Bitcoin needs a massive shift in thought that overthrows all forms of militarized government. Possible? Maybe but highly unlikely without millions of people dying. The new Bitcoin power would also need its own military to do this. So we’re back at square one or where we are today. That is unless you think Bitcoin is also the answer to world peace which seems even more far fetched.
  - solosoyokaze 6y ago
    I do see the toppling of the US government having a domino effect on other powerful nations. If the systems are in place to end US imperialism, those same systems can be used by citizens of other oppressive regimes.
    - almost_usual 6y ago
      You’re proposing Bitcoin will bring world peace. Sorry, I don’t believe this. Who controls the power grid, the land, the roads, the infrastructure? How is that power enforced? Physical force. No one gives away power without a fight. If Bitcoin is the future people will need to die to make it so.
      - solosoyokaze 6y ago
        I said very clearly at the start that Bitcoin alone will not bring peace. It's one piece of the puzzle to get us off our current government. People are going to die either way, I'm just done using my money to pay for bombs to kill people that have nothing to do with me.
        MrMan 6y ago
        I will be very happy if the US lays down its arms- I can employ former soldiers as mercenaries to seize bitcoin wallets and mining complexes.
    - dmitriid 6y ago
      > I do see the toppling of the US government having a domino effect on other powerful nations. I guess you are about 11? May be 15? Before you were born a great power was toppled, called The Soviet Union. It happened over three years, 1989-1991. We can all see the domino effect, for sure.

jcranmer 6y ago

Why do you think it is a prerequisite? Imperialism can certainly exist without having the reserve currency--consider the world situation on the outbreak of WWI, which was the height of imperialism and yet no country had a reserve currency (everyone being on the gold standard).

solosoyokaze 6y ago
Taxes on USD are used to fund the military. I see long term value storage in Bitcoin with operational and privacy focused "cash" like crypto being pegged to BTC as a way to choke the input funds to the US military.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- lottin 6y ago
  Why do you think it makes a difference whether Americans pay taxes in USD, JPY or wheat?
  - solosoyokaze 6y ago
    I'm saying it's much harder for the US government to collect taxes from crypto. It's much easier to work with a bank to directly pilfer your account than for them to force people to hand over their private keys. The latter doesn't scale nearly as well as the former.
    - hannasanarion 6y ago
      So you're saying that the only benefit of bitcoin is that is is useful for committing crimes. Gotcha.
    - lottin 6y ago
      Sure, and it's even harder to collect taxes from cash transactions. The thing is that with or without Bitcoin you still need financial institutions, so I'm not sure your tax evasion plan is as brilliant as you think it is.