[a_humean]

I think many people would say that bitcoins aren't apolitical, but a new kind of gold buggery. Making it difficult in principle for a government treasury or a central bank to make certain kinds of decisions about monetary policy is political.

[VMG]

I guess it's political in the same was as encryption is.

Encryption makes it difficult for the government to make certain kinds of decisions as well.

[a_humean]

Yes, but in the case of encryption we have competing issues relating to commerce, privacy, crime, and national security that have to be considered and weighed - which is a political process. In the case of gold buggery all we have is a political ideology of unrelenting suspicion of government trying to enforce through law or technology ideas about monetary policy that fall well outside of the economic mainstream all in service of depriving government of tools we know to be very effective at influencing the economy.

[jacalata]

Also a ton of people who want to get rich.

[VMG]

Would you say the suspicion is justified in, say, Venezuela or Zimbabwe?

[a_humean]

Well their citizens have the option of using an alternative currency such as the USD or Euro or whatever if their leaders really screw up, and it doesn't seem right that you should lock out policy tools from developing countries just because the occasional despot or incompetent screws up fiscal and monetary policy. Eventually many of these countries or regions, with luck, will mature into stable states with competent civil servants that should have the full suite of tools that our civil servants use and employ. Not be locked into a limited child's toy tool set just because their predecessors were less than competent.

[VMG]

> Well their citizens have the option of using an alternative currency such as the USD or Euro or whatever if their leaders really screw up

Only on the black market, realistically.

I'm sure the leaders will do a much better job if they know the populace has alternatives to switch to.

> Not be locked into a limited child's toy tool set just because their predecessors were less than competent.

Bitcoin isn't taking away anyones money printing machine. It just makes pushing the lever less attractive.