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That's not entirely true. The FBI chooses what it wants to focus on, which is determined not by the adverse impact on society or prioritization by laws but by o

That's not entirely true. The FBI chooses what it wants to focus on, which is determined not by the adverse impact on society or prioritization by laws but by other considerations such as media exposure, general popularity, funding, etc. I am not saying all blame belongs to the FBI and not the system, but they are at least partially to blame.

superuser2 12y ago
The FBI allowing Silk Road or Silk Road-alikes to operate unchecked is an admission to the world that Bitcoin/Tor have eroded the sovereignty of the U.S. That's not just an institutional embarrassment, it's a signal that we no longer live in a law-governed society. You don't get to overpower the United States government. Why do we spend so much time and money chasing fugitives? Why do we risk officers' lives in armed standoffs? Because the government is not a government anymore if you get to win. The fact that we do not allow crimes on the scale of Silk Road to continue is, in a fairly important sense, what makes the U.S. different from Mexico. Sure, there are lots of small-scale crimes we can't actually enforce, but those don't have the same public visibility, and so don't give the appearance of a government that can't enforce laws anymore. Silk Road does. There is an important sense in which it is the government's job to demonstrate that the rule of law is very much in effect in the large-scale and publicly visible areas where it matters. Which is, in large part, why the fact that nobody went to jail over the 2008 meltdown is so concerning.
- rayiner 12y ago
  It's really worth thinking about this: why do we prosecute crimes at all? Is it the deterrence effect of the potential for getting caught? In that case, why do we bother prosecuting, e.g. murders that are so circumstance-specific there is little danger of reoffending (e.g. wife killing her abusive husband)?

superuser2 12y ago

The FBI allowing Silk Road or Silk Road-alikes to operate unchecked is an admission to the world that Bitcoin/Tor have eroded the sovereignty of the U.S. That's not just an institutional embarrassment, it's a signal that we no longer live in a law-governed society. You don't get to overpower the United States government. Why do we spend so much time and money chasing fugitives? Why do we risk officers' lives in armed standoffs? Because the government is not a government anymore if you get to win. The fact that we do not allow crimes on the scale of Silk Road to continue is, in a fairly important sense, what makes the U.S. different from Mexico. Sure, there are lots of small-scale crimes we can't actually enforce, but those don't have the same public visibility, and so don't give the appearance of a government that can't enforce laws anymore. Silk Road does. There is an important sense in which it is the government's job to demonstrate that the rule of law is very much in effect in the large-scale and publicly visible areas where it matters. Which is, in large part, why the fact that nobody went to jail over the 2008 meltdown is so concerning.

rayiner 12y ago
It's really worth thinking about this: why do we prosecute crimes at all? Is it the deterrence effect of the potential for getting caught? In that case, why do we bother prosecuting, e.g. murders that are so circumstance-specific there is little danger of reoffending (e.g. wife killing her abusive husband)?