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Why don't the provisions in the bill of rights lead to an amorphous group of oligarch gangsters and cartels who can escape prosecution because they are protecte

by shawnz 5y ago

Why don't the provisions in the bill of rights lead to an amorphous group of oligarch gangsters and cartels who can escape prosecution because they are protected against searches/seizures/etc? Are those provisions a regression to democracy too? Why does democracy need checks and balances at all if the government is fundamentally accountable? > our current system isn't here by accident. Is cryptocurrency here "by accident"?

trts 5y ago
Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. I'm not going to say it will be successful in that aim, but the idea that governments can simply create currency by fiat, donate it to their powerful, insolvent friends, pass the cost along to your grandchildren and/or degrade the value of your savings is not what I consider to be a democratic system.
- amznthrwaway 5y ago
  Instead, you wish to create your own currency, own it with your friends, and try to degrade the purchasing power of others.
- xadhominemx 5y ago
  > Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. Was it actually, though?
  - pshc 5y ago
    Ostensibly, yes, with the genesis block containing the string "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
    - xadhominemx 5y ago
      Ostensibly, ya. But really, I don’t think so.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
- paulmd 5y ago
  > Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. And ironically it works the same way in crypto. I bet the traditional financial markets wish they could "roll back" financial calamities like the Ethereum DAO hack - the founder of ethereum lost money so oops, hit the undo button, roll back every transaction on the whole network. That's the exact same sort of "socialism for the elites, capitalism for the rest" as crypto boosters complain about with USD.
joe_the_user 5y ago
Why does democracy need checks and balances at all if the government is fundamentally accountable? Some portion of the answers to the objection that cryptocurrency increases the level of unaccountable power seem to be being met with "but look how unaccountable power is now", which misses the power. Boy, yes, power is pretty unaccountable and those with their hands on the levers of power seem to be the wealthy. Those who benefit from cryptocurrency are also the wealthy, who can use this along with the other levers of power to increase their influence and increase their wealth. There's counter balance to the power of Fed here.

by shawnz 5y ago

trts 5y ago

Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. I'm not going to say it will be successful in that aim, but the idea that governments can simply create currency by fiat, donate it to their powerful, insolvent friends, pass the cost along to your grandchildren and/or degrade the value of your savings is not what I consider to be a democratic system.

amznthrwaway 5y ago
Instead, you wish to create your own currency, own it with your friends, and try to degrade the purchasing power of others.
xadhominemx 5y ago
> Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. Was it actually, though?
- pshc 5y ago
  Ostensibly, yes, with the genesis block containing the string "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
  - xadhominemx 5y ago
    Ostensibly, ya. But really, I don’t think so.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
paulmd 5y ago
> Bitcoin at least was a deliberate response to what I would paraphrase as the "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the rest" policies of the last global financial crisis. And ironically it works the same way in crypto. I bet the traditional financial markets wish they could "roll back" financial calamities like the Ethereum DAO hack - the founder of ethereum lost money so oops, hit the undo button, roll back every transaction on the whole network. That's the exact same sort of "socialism for the elites, capitalism for the rest" as crypto boosters complain about with USD.

joe_the_user 5y ago

Why does democracy need checks and balances at all if the government is fundamentally accountable? Some portion of the answers to the objection that cryptocurrency increases the level of unaccountable power seem to be being met with "but look how unaccountable power is now", which misses the power. Boy, yes, power is pretty unaccountable and those with their hands on the levers of power seem to be the wealthy. Those who benefit from cryptocurrency are also the wealthy, who can use this along with the other levers of power to increase their influence and increase their wealth. There's counter balance to the power of Fed here.