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1/ Bitcoin, justice, and America
A thread
A thread
2/ Here’s a hot take:
Murder, rape, kidnapping, assault, theft, etc are bad
Prosecuting prosecuting people who do these things is good
Murder, rape, kidnapping, assault, theft, etc are bad
Prosecuting prosecuting people who do these things is good
3/ Gotta be careful though. When you give someone the power to go after bad guys, make sure they can’t become a bad guy as well
4/ For a while, the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments served this purpose. Law enforcement is supposed to:
Get a warrant
Respect private property
Have a trial
Get a warrant
Respect private property
Have a trial
5/ These make policing EXPENSIVE. It costs a lot of government resources to investigate crimes one at a time.
High cost is a check on abuse of authority, ensuring that law enforcement is going to focus on the worst offenders
It’s then up to culture to take care of the rest
High cost is a check on abuse of authority, ensuring that law enforcement is going to focus on the worst offenders
It’s then up to culture to take care of the rest
6/ Of course, that’s not actually what happens these days
Rubber stamp warrants, militarized police, sentencing guidelines, and mass incarceration are all examples of law enforcement operating at scale
Mostly thanks to the War on Drugs
Rubber stamp warrants, militarized police, sentencing guidelines, and mass incarceration are all examples of law enforcement operating at scale
Mostly thanks to the War on Drugs
7/ Scale is necessary when you’re trying to enforce virtue. Low level crime can’t be addressed efficiently with tools that respect due process. You either stop trying, or you scale up and throw due process out the window.
8/ This is bad, because there’s now no check on the power of people who hold the legal monopoly violence.
#bitcoin
fixes this
#bitcoin
fixes this
9/ Censorship resistant transactions take away the ability for anyone to restrict financial activity at scale
If you use bitcoin to pay for a crime you can still risk prosecution. In practice, the crime will need to rise to the level to make it worth the cost
If you use bitcoin to pay for a crime you can still risk prosecution. In practice, the crime will need to rise to the level to make it worth the cost
10/ Criminals are deterred by the risk of prosecution
Authoritarians are deterred by the cost of prosecution
Cops get to go back to investigating bad guys
Civil society wins
Authoritarians are deterred by the cost of prosecution
Cops get to go back to investigating bad guys
Civil society wins
11/ In a bitcoin system you can’t use financial censorship as a shortcut
Law enforcement will again have to identify a crime, investigate it, and then muster the resources to arrest and prosecute the offender
Law enforcement will again have to identify a crime, investigate it, and then muster the resources to arrest and prosecute the offender
12/ If the police really want to get someone, they can. But it’s far too expensive to target large groups this way.
In other words, the wrench attack doesn’t scale
In other words, the wrench attack doesn’t scale
13/ This is a very, very good thing for two reasons.
First, we get rid authoritarian power
Second, it puts the responsibility for culture back where it belongs
First, we get rid authoritarian power
Second, it puts the responsibility for culture back where it belongs
14/ This thread is getting long so I’m going to wrap it up, but it ties into another core American idea that #bitcoin supports
Federalism and the ethic of live and let live are necessary for a free and prosperous society
supports Federalism and the ethic of live and let live are necessary for a free and prosperous society
