Curated Lists - Crypto Philosophy

If you think about philosophy 🤔, the first thing you realize is there is no end answer to such philosophical questions. So then, why do we bother in the first place 🤨? Well, it is a process to get into the solution that we believe may work in the present until a better solution comes up.

At least, that is my belief. 

Here is my curated list of crypto philosophy reading for now.

✍️ Author of Crypto Anarchist Manifesto

The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto was written by Timothy C. May. 

Timothy C. May, a physicist, polemicist and cantankerous advocate of internet privacy who helped start a movement aimed at protecting the privacy of individuals online…

In the one-page Crypto Anarchist Manifesto, which he wrote in 1988, Mr. May said, “Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions.”

He was an influential figure in the Cypherpunk and a hidden figure in pushing the movement of Cypherpunk despite his oddly racist opinions.

🤬 One Page of Crypto Anarchist Manifesto

The State will of course try to slow or halt the spread of this technology, citing national security concerns, use of the technology by drug dealers and tax evaders, and fears of societal disintegration. Many of these concerns will be valid; crypto anarchy will allow national secrets to be trade freely and will allow illicit and stolen materials to be traded. An anonymous computerized market will even make possible abhorrent markets for assassinations and extortion. Various criminal and foreign elements will be active users of CryptoNet. But this will not halt the spread of crypto anarchy.

The motive is to defend against surveillance of computer network communication back then.

Just as the technology of printing altered and reduced the power of medieval guilds and the social power structure, so too will cryptologic methods fundamentally alter the nature of corporations and of government interference in economic transactions. Combined with emerging information markets, crypto anarchy will create a liquid market for any and all material which can be put into words and pictures.

The term crypto anarchy was born to create a market that operates purely through technology.

☠ Anarcho-capitalism

The idea of crypto anarchy was borrowed from anarcho-capitalism, a radical way to liberalize property rights and the rule of laws.

The anarcho-capitalist definition of freedom is entirely negative. It calls for the absence of coercion but cannot guarantee the positive freedom of individual autonomy and independence. Nor does it recognize the equal right of all to the means of subsistence…In the name of freedom, the anarcho-capitalists would like to turn public spaces into private property, but freedom does not flourish behind high fences protected by private companies but expands in the open air when it is enjoyed by all.

The New Right and Anarcho-capitalism by Peter Marshall

Although many arguments I found lack to enforce, it is fun to read 😎.

🗽 A Cypherpunk's Manifesto

Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age. Privacy is not secrecy. A private matter is something one doesn't want the whole world to know, but a secret matter is something one doesn't want anybody to know. Privacy is the power to selectively reveal oneself to the world.

A Cypherpunk's Manifesto by Eric Hughes

Cypherpunk movement is about privacy protection in the digital age. An opinion about privacy in the future and having the power to reveal oneself to the world selectively.

🧠 Consequentialism

Consequentialism is a way to view a world that what is best or suitable is whatever makes the world best in the future. Don’t worry about the past, worry about the future instead. Such an idea is widely used in technological advancement and argues that advanced technology makes a better world. The problem is that technology only advanced itself without considering the value and morals.

Within the context of automated decision making, a consequentialist perspective underscores that merely satisfying a particular fairness metric is no guarantee of ethical conduct. Rather, consequentialism requires that we consider all possible options (including the possibility of not deploying an automated system), and weigh the likely consequences that will result, considered broadly, including possible implications for the long term future. 

On Consequentialism and Fairness by Dallas Card and Noah A. Smith

🤖 Machinery of Freedom

The book aims to show that law and its enforcement do not require a state, but it can be sustained by non-coercive private enterprise and charity. It explores the consequences of libertarian thought, describes examples of stateless societies (such as the Icelandic Commonwealth) and offers the author's personal statement about why he became a libertarian.

The Machinery of Freedom by David D. Friedman

🔝 Bitcoin Maximalism

https://twitter.com/VitalikButerin/status/1509826171692892166

Crypto-assets like Bitcoin have real cultural and structural advantages that make them powerful assets worth holding and using. Bitcoin is an excellent example of the category, though it's certainly not the only one; other honorable cryptocurrencies do exist, and maximalists have been willing to support and use them. Maximalism is not just Bitcoin-for-the-sake-of-Bitcoin; rather, it's a very genuine realization that most other cryptoassets are scams, and a culture of intolerance is unavoidable and necessary to protect newbies and make sure at least one corner of that space continues to be a corner worth living in.

In Defense of Bitcoin Maximalism by Vitalik Buterin

⚔️ Maximalism vs. Minimalism

While maximalists and minimalists will continue to battle over the viability of Bitcoin, other cryptocurrencies are continuing to prove themselves as viable assets in the digital age. Cryptocurrencies like Ethereum are being embraced by financial institutions, while others like Litecoin are showing there is room in the industry for more than one form of digital cash. After all, just because gold is valuable as a commodity doesn’t mean silver is worthless.

The Cryptocurrency War: Bitcoin Maximalism vs. Minimalism by anatha.io

That is it for today 😉!

Have you got new ideas about crypto? Wants your articles to include in the lists?

Let me know ✋ and follow me 🙏 at xuanling11.