I've been thinking about doing a post on this for a while, then came across this exceptional piece from @taskmaster4450 on the dynamics of fiat vs crypto and the change upon us.
In the comments I got into a discussion with someone who like me has tried to broach the subject of the liberating possibilities of cryptocurrency to those who have done quite well in this economic system, yet purport to being dedicated to helping uplift those who have not done well.
I wrote:
Not too long ago I was at an international gathering of people at the forefront of socially conscious investing. There were some very wealthy do-gooders in there, and I truly believe they had good hearts. Yet when my turn to speak about my work came and I started talking about my work you should have seen how they responded. You see much of my work is helping people who come from families who've endured generational persecution (pogroms, internment, enslavement, etc.) heal from that trauma. This includes transcending the mindset of "suffer and sacrifice to earn your keep" and using things like crypto to heal from the financial legacy of oppression.
They loved the idea right up to where I started talking about crypto and its values proposition, how it is a version of money that doesn't have to serve the military or corporate interests. Then you should have seen how they hardened. Why? Well consciously I think they just think of crypto as a scam. But unconsciously, because it threatens their own dominance.
They have done quite well with the system of money that measures the value of a person's labor by their contribution to the military or corporate power structures. They've done so well that they now get to be philanthropists, doling out alms to the poor in the form of giving grants to non-profits trying to heal those harmed by the system of fiat currency. They have a lot of identity tied up in being "good people" who are responsibly using their unearned power. All and well, until you say, "well what if we could take that excess power off your hands, to that poor people don't need to appeal to you for alms?" Yeah, not so hot about that one.
I won't go into the reply from the gentleman with a similar experience, since you can see it in the comments on the original post, but needless to say this is not just my isolated experience.
It is a real thing that there is tremendous investment on the part of those winning in the current financial system to want to protect that system, even if they are simultaneously working to undermine it. They can live with this contradiction because at some level they know they can't completely dismantle their privilege while playing within the fiat money system. They will always be the one deciding how much they give and taking credit for having given it.
Along comes cryptocurrency, which threatens to actually disarm them. To actually create a level playing field.
I've spoken before about the additional opportunity crypto presents to create a system of money that measures a person's worth by something other than how they contribute their labor to the increased power of the military or corporate interests. This is another layer of complication for the person who wants to do good, but only by working within the current economic system.
They may like the idea of investments in renewable energy the way WePower does, but it's crypto! They make like the idea of universal basic income the way MANNA does, but it's crypto! And so on.
What to do?
Keep speaking truth to power.
Talk to the wealthy people you meet about crypto. And when they start comparing it to a Vegas mentality, remind them of a real place called Vegas and the currency that is used there.
Talk them through it. Help them to understand how unsustainable and unjust the current fiat money system is and the possibility of crypto to actually create the world they say they want.
You may not have a convert, but you will plant a seed. And as the years unfold they will see that blockchain (and the crypto that secures it) are as unstoppable as the Internet was 20 years ago.
Eventually the seeds you have planted will feel the warmth of the sun and will begin to grow, and it will be that much easier for them to see that they have lost nothing. That in fact, they have gained the opportunity to live their values in a very deep way, by supporting the true economic empowerment of others independent of them. They can even get in on it themselves, by buying themselves some crypto.
(Photo source: Rawpixel)
Resteems always appreciated