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What makes society thrive?
236 sats \ 7 comments \ @aljaz 15 May BooksAndArticles
It’s not big government programs or powerful institutions that make a society strong. It’s something much simpler: everyday people trading and working together.
Think about the local hardware store owner. He helps his neighbors, gives people jobs, and provides useful tools. But when the government taxes him too much to fund its programs, it takes away money he could have used to hire someone or visit his family. That hurts both him and the people around him.
This happens all over. Small business owners, tradesmen, inventors and entrepreneurs are the ones who really build up a society. They create value by trading things people want, and both sides benefit. Free trade gives people more choices and helps them live better lives.
But from a young age, we’re told to obey authority without question. We’re taught that without rulers, there would be chaos. But what if that’s not true?
Look around the world: even when governments try to control trade, people still find ways to work together and exchange goods. It’s natural. People want to cooperate and help each other—especially when they’re free to do so.
Here’s the hard truth: if someone can take your money, control your property, and punish you without your agreement, isn’t that a kind of control—or even servitude?
True prosperity doesn’t come from the top down. It comes from people freely working together—farmers, builders, cooks, coders—offering their skills to others who need them.
When trade is free, people do well. When it’s blocked by too many rules or taxes, everyone loses—especially the ones who need help the most.
The answer isn’t more laws or more control. It’s more freedom. Next time someone says we need more government to fix things, ask yourself: wouldn’t free people solve those problems better on their own?
Real civilization isn’t about being ruled. It’s about choosing to work together, trade fairly, and respect each other’s rights. That’s not chaos—that’s freedom.
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21 sats \ 6 replies \ @AG 15 May
This topic sound's like an ~AGORA themed conversation. Would be nice to have a book about it.
Trading P2P is the way local communities can thrive autonomously. I feel, or I hope so, we are going from globalization back to localization, meaning empowering and buying from local producers is the way forward.
everyday people trading and working together
Govs are just middlemen, wondering if it's really needed... some people unable to govern themselves probably do. Circular economies are the flourishing seed for human prosperity.
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10 sats \ 5 replies \ @aljaz OP 16 May
I have a pet peeve with circular economies - we should just be talking about commerce rather than economy, because despite economy without state interference existed way before any state ever did the term has been now completely abused by the governments and armchair socialists and makes no sense because its muddied with lies, misconceptions and false dichotomies.
People freely exchanging goods and services, organizing themselves based on their needs and desires instead of permissions is what we really want, which is commerce.
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0 sats \ 4 replies \ @AG 16 May
Totally agree on it, II could not frame it better, probably used to have the broader audience listening, as the terms somehow are better understood.
The question is, how can we favor this approach and make sure others act in the same way? For us, the ~AGORA is one way we can promote this concepts and incentivize people—stackers in this case— to exchange goods and service peer to peer.
There is still the issue SN isn't decentralized and currently act as fairly acting as middleman. Or better said, it enables the connection between two parties in different locations. This however applies only in this realm.
My question is not specific, we have the tools, technology, to interact and organize ourselves based on our needs and desires. If isn't just ignited cultural behaviors, what else can we provide or facilitate to achieve the goal?
Is about personal values? Bitcoin as tool, is doing a good job summarizing and promoting new values to achieve this change. People are learning to use it, changing their mindset and metal models. Albeit, is studying bitcoin enough? Or there's much more, like the secular laws of commerce, that need to be taught and propagated. Does people really know how to trade and behave in commerce?
Because at the end of the day, that's what's all about, no? I mean life, is't about dealing and trading, not only good and services, but also emotions and relations with ourselves and others in a community?
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0 sats \ 3 replies \ @aljaz OP 18 May
This has been something I've been thinking a lot about and I think studying bitcoin alone is definitely not enough because I feel it can put people into false sense of security and passive approach to things. Low time preference, hodling and ngu have pacified people into "ahh i'll just wait and shitpost and bitcoin will fix everything" instead of realizing that now we have the tools to fight back. To some extent bitcoin is making people lazy because if they were early enough or had enough disposable income they are so much better off than an average person that its easy to just enjoy the spoils and see the world rot.
Until now we have mostly just applied fiat things to bitcoin world and thus havent really figured out a way to show people something that would instantly make them convert to believers (silk road is an eample of things that worked with bitcoin but not before and every user of it got it instantly because it solved a problem in a much better way)
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0 sats \ 2 replies \ @AG 18 May
now we have the tools to fight back
It is not a fight, it becomes a game. A really really funny game when one learn and play with the rules.
Until now we have mostly just applied fiat things to bitcoin world
Ad that's what is continuously happening, unfortunately people do not know better and continue to register businesses in the fiat world, putting some B logo here ad there ad calling themselves bitcoin business. The B in these cases stands for BS.
The approach silk road took was the right one, unfortunately someone did not like it because of the items sold. But that's just a detail. The platform offered a service, people decided what to sell... everything worked.
My question still unanswered, what else can we provide or facilitate to achieve the goal? How can we better teach people to do business in the private realm?
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0 sats \ 1 reply \ @aljaz OP 19 May
i think the problem is that we want to teach people to do business in private realm instead of making it obvious to them why they should
we need to make it clear and demonstratable that free private markets are the superior solution on their merits, not just the fact that they are private. This is obviously the case just by the fact that if you're not paying taxes (or at least less taxes) your business is much more profitable/needs less resources etc. But then it becomes a problem of spotlights etc.
Essentially I think building out communities and invite only systems is the only way, which to some extent you're already doing with agora territory. We need to build communities (irl and online) that can generate a decent amount of demand for services to pop up there.
I think most people like to do business in private by default, they just don't put a label on it. I don't meet a lot of small business owners who don't like cash for their services instead of a card payment (most of the times with decent discount on the cash payment). I've stayed in a lot of places where the concept of an invoice was a foreign one for most services (it would be either cash of revolut for payments), but i'm sure noone there thought of "oh we're doing business in private realm". They just don't give a shit and local enforcement of tax codes was non existent. Basically supporting small businesses instead of big corporations and paying in cash everywhere is the foundation of this. I'd stay away from trying to force bitcoin down peoples throats for in person payments or payments in general. This tends to alienate people more than anything else at this point. Obviously if you do it Darth style and pay someone in bitcoin and they give you services on a regular basis thats great and should be encouraged, but the two should not be tied together.
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