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user-inactivated  ·  3332 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: How Bitcoin’s Blockchain Could Power an Alternate Internet

    What is it with fucking libertarian psychopaths and tech?

Libertarianism is popular in tech circles because government intervention in computing is invariably stupid and heavy-handed. When your most direct experience with government is stupid and heavy-handed, it is easy to come to see all government as stupid and heavy-handed. We can engineer around stupid and heavy handed and, usually, that's the right thing to do. Bitcoin is different because monetary policy isn't as idiotic as technology policy, and because few of us are experts in monetary policy and most of those who think they are are kooks. But it's easy to believe the kooks, because they present themselves as experts who say the government is stupid and heavy handed with regards to the thing they are an expert in, and this sounds plausible because you know the government is stupid and heavy handed with regards to the thing you are an expert in.