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From what I read he was libertarian when he wrote this book, but has moved steadily to the left since.
nah I don't think he was ever libertarian.
Stross was always about the post scarcity scenario. Bitcoin is digital scarcity embodied.
It's everywhere in his writing, blogs. AMAs.
Maybe. I'm just going on what I read. I'll be in a better position to evaluate the book once I read it. I do know that when it was released it impressed Wladimir van der Laan. I remember when I first discovered libertarianism it was because of Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia. I still love the book, but his politics changed during his lifetime. He wound up supporting New York City rent control!
My interest is in the book, anyway, as the first to address bitcoin in a work of fiction. Strosser's opinions are kind of beside the point now. What he wrote in 2013 is what matters.
Why do you think some libertarians started turning left?
I'm curious to understand the steelman case. If someone said "government power is needed as an antidote to corporate power", I'd sympathize. However, I'd argue that currently corporate power derives from govenrment power, namely the power to print money (the bitcoiner's hypothesis).
One thing that I think has caused a lot of left leaning people to turn away from bitcoin is that the crypto space went from punk to finance-bro.
I just found a later Hacker News quote from Stross:
I wrote it circa 2010-11, before BitCoin really took off in the public eye, and used the term 'bitcoin' for a not-like-our-BtC-honest cryptocurrency. If I'd known BtC was going to take off that way the year the book came out, I'd have come up with a different name." [1]
He apparently regrets having used the word "bitcoin" witout knowing it would become popular, which supports your notion that he's anti bitcoin.
Do you think you'll read the book? You seem to know his work well. It would be good to get your opinion.
Oof, maybe I'll have to get the book used then.
Get it new.
Stross is a brilliany writer and just cause he's wrong about bitcoin doesn't mean he isn't entertaining as hell.
I'll let you know after I read it if it's worth your time.
charles stross hates bitcoin.
i like stross a lot on the writer but he's worthless on the corn. I haven't read this book but I'm confident in my asessment
family trade and layndry files are great.