China has won the trade war. How many western manufacturers have to go to China and show China how to build the product and then lose the global market to China? China used Tesla and Musk to show them how to build EVs and now China leads the world in EV production by using the Chinese parts suppliers Tesla contracted and gave the blueprints to. They just never learn. The west is fucked as it cannot compete with Chinas highly organised and determined mercantilism. The west has no cohesive overall strategy. China has beat the west at its own game. Chinas mixed economy led byb a poliburo composed mostly of engineers beats the wests crony capitalism run by bankers, real estate age, rentseeking corporate lobbyists and lawyers. China told Trump to get fucked with his tariffs because USA needs China just as much as China needs USA. The world is watching. US financialisation of everything has decimated the wests economic dominance and opened the door to China to be the new economic super power.

I do agree there is a strong case for Bitcoin being superior in terms of the way the individual is treated and there is definitely a case where the modern nation state (and probably less modern nations states as well) have abused fiat monetary powers. My own position is simple and does not require a book to explain... since neoliberalism of the 1980s deregulated banking allowing bankers to issue new money toward finance of any purpose whether productive or not, our fiat monetary system has become dysfunctional and has directed huge sums of capital/debt fiat monetary issuance toward non productive speculative asset price pumping which dose not compensate most participants in the host economy with any increase in overall wealth production and prosperity. It is in protest of this misuse of fiat money that I hold Bitcoin and partially escape the rentseeking neoliberal banksters fiat debt slavery while being part of building an alternative. Fuck the banksters and their politician puppets.

Isn't using a third party to insure and provide custodial solutions anathema to the whole point of Bitcoin?

I hold Bitcoin because I can hold it without any reliance upon third party rentseekers.

'he says that a money is immoral if a small group of people can control it for their own benefit at the expense of others. Who would disagree with that?'

It can be argued that fiat money by effectively giving the government and bankers the ability to debase the savings of all citizens also gives the government the power and leverage to defend the nation against adversaries.

It can also be argued that by giving banks the power to issue fiat funding to productive investment proposals the entire wider economy can benefit from this investment as it spurs jobs and wealth creation by creating an effectively limitless source of capital funding for potentially productive investment proposals.

What Bitcoiners often fail to recognise is the significant role the nation state and its government play in the wealth and security of a nation and its people.

Certainly in some areas they are in decline, but other factors are still more in favour of having a family as family values are still generally stronger and the future economic outlook is still brighter than most western economies. Do you always cherrypick one point which may be arguable in your favour while ignoring the broader argument which is not? Future economic prospects for people in Asia, China in particular have been improving rapidly for the last 40 years- in contrast the economic prospects for North Americans have overall been in decline while divorce rates have escalated and family values have declined.

Yes, more or less, and while some of this is due to modernisation and the change in economy from rural to urban, farm to industrialised, it is also evident that the breakdown of the family is by far more advanced and widespread in the west.

The East, in particular Asia is growing more wealthy while western economies and culture are swamped by immigrants upon which they are addicted due to their growing inability to produce children.

Regardless my primary point remains that today in the west especially many young people feel the risk and reward of hiving kids is not worthwhile- the cost of housing, feminism and general breakdown of family values and traditions all contribute as does the fiat debt slavery economy where time preferences are high and long term planning is difficult and overall the economic advantage that the west has enjoyed for centuries are in decline.

Yes, if you want to, but accept there is no guarantee they will take care of you in old age.

Meaning if you have the funds you can buy care?

In other words rely on corporate aged care?

Or what?

A friends father is 94 and determined not to go to a rest home. He has three daughters, none of whom want to relocate to take care of him. They all could, but choose not to. He gets home help to dress and wash and keep the house operational.

Get a younger healthy wife if you can, or accept there are no guarantees in life...?!

What is the divorce rate these days? What are interest rates and house prices? 1/7 couples are infertile. I can see why many people these days do not want to or feel they cannot safely, have kids. If you do have kids what are the odds they will take care of you when you are old/invalid? I would suggest do not count upon it! The fiat culture of debt and high time preference also has a lot to do with it imo. The west is dying as it values material wealth over family.

ownership is theft

Are there any vegan Bitcoiners?

You have already confirmed they are vegans - that's quite enough context thank you!

Good idea.

Context?

You need to be innovative, bold, sly and lucky to get off the centuries old noose of Jewish debt slavery...

'The company's "Mefo bills" served as bills of exchange, convertible into Reichsmark upon request.'

You have a source on this?

'The company's "Mefo bills" served as bills of exchange, convertible into Reichsmark upon request.'

The MeFos could be redeemed at any time for Reichmarks. As they paid more than any other similar liquid asset people did not generally want to redeem. The German government pushed back the automatic redemption dates because people where happy to continue holding- until they weren't. Certainly once the German expansion project was in retreat, then demand would presumably have evaporated, but for quite a while the prospects looked good....until they didn't! Like USTs, with MeFos, you are/were investing in the success, or otherwise, of the empire that issued them. It's all good, until it isn't...