210 sats \ 7 replies \ @elvismercury OP 18 Oct 2023 \ on: _Broken Money_ book club, part 2 bitcoin
If you're reading SN, and you're reading this post, you've likely been inundated with information on topics pertaining to the development of banks, the rise of fiat, and the implications of those structures.
Given your likely background in these matters, what stood out for you from part 2? What made an impression? What threads would you like to pull?
When I was reading the proto-banking chapter, the overarching theme for me was trust as a scaling solution. After reading @wefofficial's trust as a scaling solution essay collection, I can't not think of trust this way.
The Hawaladars and suftaja were such vivid examples of trust being used like it were a technology.
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I hadn't seen those essays and they sound amazing, so thanks for the link! And "trust as tech" is, upon reflection, exactly right. Not just metaphorically right, but literally true based on a definition of technology that describes it as a force-amplifying tool.
The idea that trust is bad, and that we would be better off without it, is one of my most foundational beefs w/ the maxi narrative as one encounters it in the wild. (Not saying that this is a necessary or ubiquitous point of view, but I am saying that you literally hear it all the time.)
Low-trust societies are not paradises, they are fucking hellscapes. Full stop. It's not something to be hoped for.
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a definition of technology that describes it as a force-amplifying tool
It's a biological technology. A technology humans didn't make yet still a technology in the sense that it's a critical tool.
The idea that trust is bad, and that we would be better off without it, is one of my most foundational beefs w/ the maxi narrative as one encounters it in the wild.
That's such an interesting bone to pick. The ubiquitous maxi perspective is probably "trust should be optional," but I can see it showing up as "trust is bad" too.
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Yeah, I'm not trying to strawman it. I think a useful, and totally legit thing, is to say: btc allows us to remove trust from certain aspects of transacting in a way that scales; and that this trust-removal unlocks conditions where trust can actually grow globally. So you remove the requirement for trust in one part of the ecosystem, and on net this is good for global trust.
That's a nuanced take that I could fully endorse. I'm sure some people do talk that way. But there are so many takes that are just as bad and caricaturish as I represented.
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Off-topic, but...
...have I just witnessed a new SN feature, or am I imagining things?
Comments I haven't seen on the thread before are now (briefly) highlighted when I refresh the page?
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That's been there for like 8 weeks :)
The outline remains until you cursor over it (or touch it on mobile) ... or simply leave the thread.
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Ah, thanks.
Not the first time you have to point out the obvious to me either :)
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