The Bushido of Bitcoin with Aleks Svetski

 
 

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“Now that we’re in a time of peace - and we don’t need war anymore, and war is bad, and all that sort of stuff - we can do away with the whole warrior culture, the warrior ideology. And what do we become? We become fat slobs who don’t believe in reputation or morality or honour or any of that sort of stuff. And then the world decays and turns into shit.”
— Aleks Svetski

SHOW DESCRIPTION

Aleks Svetski is an entrepreneur, author and Bitcoin advocate. In this interview, we discuss his upcoming book “The Bushido of Bitcoin”. We cover the negative impacts of wealth, how Bitcoiners can mitigate such negative influences by becoming virtuous and disciplined, and why famous warrior classes are examples to follow.

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It seems like we’re entering another bull run. If it is sustained and we enter another cycle, Bitcoin’s price appreciation will be matched by reappraisals of the hyperbitcoinisation thesis. Can it replace the role of stores of value? Can it become a new global monetary reserve? Will it become a prevalent medium of exchange?

Whilst all these questions are important, there one area of discussion doesn’t get adequately debated: what do Bitcoiners do if and when their place within society becomes elevated? Material personal benefits will be offset by newfound responsibilities. If they are to be the flag bearers of the change Bitcoin promises, how should Bitcoiners behave?

Aleks Svetski tackles this issue in his soon-to-be-released book ‘The Bushido of Bitcoin”. Bushido is the samurai moral code. The word literally means “warrior way”. The samurai were Japanese nobility, and Bushido adhered them to follow various virtues (honour, honesty, self-control, loyalty, compassion, respect, righteousness and courage). It has had a lasting impact on Japanese culture.

The importance of Bushido in the modern context is that elites now operate outside of any moral code. Post war liberal society has developed a system of norms, where expected behaviours have not been codified into law. Increasingly, elites have exploited these norms: if it isn’t illegal, then it’s okay. The roots of societal decay can be extrapolated from this situation.

What is needed is a new moral code. It could be argued that Bitcoin maximalists have been developing such a moral framework for Bitcoiners. But, it is important to take a step back and understand the tenets of a moral code first before defining which actions should be encouraged or discouraged. In essence, what should the Bushido of Bitcoin be?

TIMESTAMPS

00:01:57: Introductions
00:09:21: Toxicity on Twitter
00:18:49: Bitcoin plebs
00:21:40: Democracy, and tribalism
00:31:25: Aleks' book, and status symbols
00:35:49: Time preference, self-restraint, and virtue
00:45:52: The transitory phase to Bitcoin
00:50:41: The impact of wealth, and the warrior culture
01:02:55: Parenting, adversity and discipline, and democracy
01:18:38: Can we become virtuous on a Bitcoin standard?
01:28:36: The warrior class contradicts bitcoiners
01:34:31: Final comments

 

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SHOW NOTES

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Mentioned in the interview:

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