Why Crypto-Anarchism?

Anarchism

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that questions authority and opposes government rule and the creation of bureaucratic enforcement systems. Often used negatively as a nickname for violent extremism, anarchism is characterized as a radical, left-wing belief calling for the abolishment of government and all government systems that enforce laws in unequal or unjust ways. Anarchism seeks to replace government-sanctioned power structures considered to be naturally unfair to minorities, such as capitalism or the prison industrial complex, with non-bureaucratic systems in which decisions are made by the people. Key tactics of anarchism include peaceful political protest and mutual aid—the voluntary sharing of economic and humanitarian resources among all members of the society.

Anarchists are individuals or groups that advocate anarchy. They believe that government authority is unnecessary and potentially harmful to society. Instead, they believe people should be allowed to rule themselves through voluntary political practices such as direct democracy. Anarchists feel that such practices embody the attributes of equality, individualism, economic self-reliance, and community interdependence.[1]

What is Crypto-anarchism ?

Crypto‐​anarchism is a philosophy whose advocates think technology can assist them in creating communities based on consent rather than coercion. Crypto‐​anarchists wish to be free from state interference but prefer technical means over political means in pursuing their aims. In this way, crypto‐​anarchism is both a way of seeing and a way of being.

Indeed Crypto-anarchism (or crypto-anarchy) is a political ideology focusing on protection of privacy, political freedom and economic freedom, the adherents of which use cryptographic software for confidentiality and security while sending and receiving information over computer networks. In his 1988 “Crypto Anarchist Manifesto”, Timothy C. May introduced the basic principles of crypto-anarchism, encrypted exchanges ensuring total anonymity, total freedom of speech, and total freedom to trade. Adrian Chen, writing for the New York Times, says the idea behind bitcoin can be traced to The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto.

Some of us believe various forms of strong cryptography will cause the power of the state to decline, perhaps even collapse fairly abruptly. We believe the expansion into cyberspace, with secure communications, digital money, anonymity and pseudonymity, and other crypto-mediated interactions, will profoundly change the nature of economies and social interactions. Governments will have a hard time collecting taxes, regulating the behavior of individuals and corporations (small ones at least), and generally coercing folks when it can’t even tell what continent folks are on! [2]

What are the goals of crypto-anarchism?

Protection from mass surveillance of communication in computer networks. Crypto-anarchists consider the development and use of cryptography to be the main means of liberation from state control.

Getting rid of censorship, especially on the Internet, as contrary to freedom of expression, through the networks of Tor, I2P, Freenet, and the like. According to crypto-anarchists, freedom from censorship will help in the fight against corruption and allow opposition politicians to spread their views.

Crypto-anarchists strive to create a global Internet of trust – a crowdfunding Internet service provider that uses peer-to-peer cellular communication stations that are collectively owned.

This Internet is fully encrypted and confidential: an algorithm is integrated into the system that provides each member of the network with a signature and reputation, depending on his merits.

Creating and developing a new economy based on viable alternatives to banking systems in the form of cryptocurrencies and decentralized financial services.

How does crypto-anarchism develop?

Crypto-anarchism is not a single organized movement. but rather a set of values and views that are shared by a wide range of people, including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former CIA, and NSA officer Edward Snowden, programmers Cody Wilson and Amir Taaki and many others. All of them, to one degree or another, embody the ideals of crypto-anarchism.

How has crypto-anarchism affected cryptocurrenci.es?

In October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto sent the famous white paper to the mailing list. The content of the work testifies to the influence of cipher banks and crypto-anarchists. In a white paper, Bitcoin cites British cryptographer Adam Beck and computer engineer Wei Dai.

In turn, the manifesto of Wei Day, in which he puts forward the idea of ​​b-money, begins with the words: “I admire Tim May’s crypto-anarchism.” After the publication of the article, Nakamoto continued to work, and on January 3, 2009, he extracted the genesis block of bitcoin.

The main ideologist of crypto-anarchism Timothy May at the end of his life said that the cryptocurrency industry actually betrayed the early ideals of this movement. He criticized the concept of compliance with laws and regulations. According to him, the spirit of crypto-anarchism contradicts the requirement to comply with the law on combating money laundering, passports, freezing accounts, and the requirement to report suspicious activities.[3]

[1]. https://www.thoughtco.com/anarchy-definition-and-examples-5105250

[2]. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crypto-anarchism

[3]. https://www.finextra.com/blogposting/18729/what-is-crypto-anarchism-and-how-it-evolved
Crypto-anarchism