Bitcoin’s philosophical roots are predicated in the ‘cypherpunk’ movement. Manifestations of this movement have generally been in virtual spaces: mailing lists, forums, and chat rooms.
The current backdrop of totalitarianism, endless wars, attacks on democracy, censorship, and orwellian cringe, provides well-timed pretext for meatspace manifestations of cypherpunk. A reboot of a Golden Era in communities worldwide. A clarion call for freedom and democracy.
Attempts to revive cypherpunk have so far been cringe. Bitcoin continues to offer-up Rockstar Dev, Calle, and assorted billionaires as heroic cultural icons. Most of them are shilling a niche product, and many of these products are not bitcoin.
Punk movements necessarily emerge from the streets, not from $599 conferences. ‘Astroturfing’ cannot propagate what is inherently inauthentic and cringe.
To achieve log growth in the cultural space, we might start with high quality cultural memetics that are aptly timed and have sufficient escape velocity, before boosting them with breakthrough amplification events. The concept of ‘re-clipping’ is of increasing importance across the main centralised social platforms; combining an advanced metrics approach with targeting marketing spend is often a viable method to obtain ‘carry’ and probably shouldn’t be dismissed.
Online memetics cannot compete with real lived experiences… events that induce goosebumps and euphoria and neurotransmitter-mediated frisson. Electronic Dance Music is an obvious bridge into freedom technologies.
The Summer of ’69 was the Summer of Love. Woodstock gave people hope – Irish Independent.
Politics is downstream of Culture – Andrew Breitbart
SECTION BELOW NEEDS WORK
As with the Summer of 1969, almost everybody can agree that a collective goal of hope & abundance, peace and liberty, is an altogether better vision. The control agenda’s attempts to ration resource – using technology to subjugate and enslave – use tools such as mass formation psychosis to elevate safety over liberty. The freedom agenda must aim to leverage decentralisation and open source to ‘build jerusalem‘ and proliferate all that is good, in every community, in every country.
We must also be cognizant of the political reality. It’ll be necessary to co-opt advisors and mentors from industry and contemporary realpolitik. Not only for strategy but also for risk mitigation.
