Bitcoin: a religious transformation
Today we're going to look at the recent adoption of cryptocurrency in a different light than many have become accustomed to. I think a careful psychological examination is important here... It is entirely possible that in the process of innovation, we have become swept up in a sea of awe of which many are unaware.
I will argue that Bitcoin and the Crypto movement are at their core, religious transformations of the social order. They are not primarily artifacts of technological function, they derive their power from belief. Money since it's historical inception, has been a symbol of numinous power, the strength of nature and fire of the Gods.
To begin, take a penny out of your pocket. How long have we taken such an object for granted! A round bronzed disc, a perfect circle. A coin, our common currency used for millennia. Why?
Rarely noted by modern anthropologists, a coin is a symbol of the Sun. It was the only golden disc in the ancient world, giver of life, the ultimate entity of the primitive world, bringer of birth and redemption. The Sun was worshiped for thousands of years as God itself, continuing into the polytheistic traditions and parts of the Judeo-Christian tradition as well. ("Let there be light.")
What else could a coin be but a symbol of the Sun's divine power? The secular mind has long forgotten it's origins in worship, but to the soul the resemblance becomes immediately clear. Is it any wonder that Temples were the first creators of such discs, issued to those in the clergy and nobility? Is it any wonder that golden and bronze coins were used for trade by the ancients for thousands of years?
And contrarily, does it mean nothing that in the rising totalitarianism of the modern age, we have drawn even the humble copper out the penny you hold in your hand just as we have replaced our gold reserves by fiat? Fiat! Modern ideology spares nothing, leaving the holiest of holy in ruins, a meaningless and powerless zinc shard. Is it any wonder the world system is on the brink of moral and economic collapse?
Return again to the disc in your hand and feel the weight of it's history... our love of gold isn't because "it's shiny", or "it's rare". It is because it is a God. Just as we worshipped Ra, Yahweh, Christ before the Nation State, we worshiped Gold, the masculine sun. We Worshiped Silver, the feminine moon. And Diamonds, the twinkling stars of the night sky, the children of Divinity.
And so we lived for thousands and thousands of years. The phenomenon of money is absolutely breathtaking. It is no mere instance of cooperation. It is representation at it's most religious, the ultimate instantiation of worship and symbolic power.
So... What does that make Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a symbol of collective social transformation. It is a myth that has only begun to change the world. People are starting to quite literally, lose faith in their sovereign nations. The financial system is first and foremost the primary element of connection between the individual and his nation. The fruits of his labor are insured by the power and sanctity of his nation. It is becoming clear however, especially where the more impoverished and corrupt reside, that this sanctity is no more, or worse, was never there to begin with.
The cryptocurrency phenomenon is what psychologists would call an "inversion". Bitcoin's current primary function is to replace "value", and in that context it is the beginning of the end of the modern nation state, which is the secular equivalent of the death of God.
It is not obvious that this is going to be a good thing. While I am a firm believer in Crypto and the ideology of personal freedom, we must not march dewey-eyed with love in our hearts towards a goal which few understand. Human beings do not understand the world in which they live, nor are they capable of doing so.
Historically when such a transformation occurs, a great deal of suffering and death come along with it. Society often pays for a metaphysical overhaul in blood, and that may well be the result of this assault on the ability of the Nation State to tax and issue debt. We must recognize the power that Bitcoin represents, a faith in the awesome power and energy of technology, and a key to our personal protection and salvation from the decay of the modern world. Only by doing so will we be able to transition from the old system toward the new without catastrophe.
In short, Crypto is coming after everything, value, belief, identity, authority-based epistemology... The old social order must be prepared to accommodate this change. It can no longer come otherwise. If Nation States push too hard against this change, a change which has a life of it's own and cannot be stopped by traditional means, a great deal of suffering can result.
This gives us even greater reason to speak the truth about Bitcoin and what it means for the world. The dialogue must remain open with the world. In some sense, we are dealing with a new religion, just like that of the Nation State. The technology of Crypto stands on firm ethical principles inherited from a long religious tradition of individual value, inspiring the great liberal philosophers who created the western world. This is yet another point in Crypto's favor. It is not only compatible with our values, it strengthens their foundations.
That being said, the road ahead will not be easy and we cannot forget the nature of this movement. This is no small technological change, it is the evolution of our deepest beliefs. We cannot be hostile to those who will one day join us in collaboration. The correct way forward, like those before us, is to keep our integrity sacred, to speak with greatness, and spread the word far and wide. We have to humble ourselves before this new power and keep the dialogue continually open with those who don't yet see the way. As always... "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
