Bitcoin Eschatology
Bitcoin 101
One of the most profound ideas in Bitcoin is that it will usher in a new age, one where both fairness and free markets will thrive. It has in fact become somewhat of an internet trope to say “Bitcoin fixes this” in reference to anything and everything on the internet.
One may then ask “How is Bitcoin in any way related?”. The answer, though illusive initially, is quite simple, yet profound.
The solution to any problem that a group of individuals might face, is determined by the ability of the group to achieve consensus and organize itself as a group, in face of that problem. This process of “harmonization” isn’t just observed within communities of humans (whether tribal, or societal), but also within all aspects of life. Neural networks, whether organic or artificial, are able to perform against an optimization function, by having neurons organically organize themselves in a certain manner, by way of learning.
In order for human beings to organize themselves and achieve consensus, we need a mechanism by which we can all communicate with one another. This was considerably easier during the period of history when we organized ourselves in small groups of 100 hunter-gatherers. However, the problem of achieving consensus becomes intractable once you have cities or nations of millions of individuals.
Absent of Borg technology, it turns out that the solution to the problem is a combination of money and free markets. Money allows us to achieve consensus on what is valuable, regardless of how many market participants there are. By being a participant in a free market, you essentially let the collective know what you perceive to be of value. The collective, likewise, lets you know what it perceives to be of value. A state of symbiosis is therefore reached, which lets us achieve things collectively that are not achievable individually.
However, in order to properly communicate and achieve consensus with other market actors, the money in circulation needs to have certain properties. The more “sound” the money is, the purer the signal between ourselves, and the collective.
One can see how the notion of building perfect consensus in a global society extends beyond classical ideas of economics, touching on spiritual and theological notions.
Bitcoin Eschatology
“Eschatology” is defined as the part of theology concerned with “the final destiny of the soul and of humankind”.
What’s most intriguing, is that eschatology is present within virtually all belief systems, ranging from Christianity to Daoism, all sharing fundamental notions with each other, despite evolving independently.
Eschatology is almost always associated with a messianic event (such as The Second Coming / Eschaton / Singularity), which brings about a profound revelation (i.e. Apocalypse), which concludes a human age, bringing about a completely new age.
An argument can be made that all of history has been a process of trying to achieve large scale consensus. All of politics and economics, every war, whether large or small, has been an attempt to form consensus by means of force projection.
Could it be that the conclusion of all of history, is the transposition of consensus building onto this digital construct called Bitcoin? That Bitcoin represents the so called Eschaton, as described by Terence McKenna? (see video below).
I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
